Force of Magic
by Moonview
Summary: Trezac Navo'x is one of the last remaining Jedi after Order 66. Crash landing on a planet filled with a force the natives call "magic", he joins two royals and an elven assassin on their quest to return an egg thought to be destroyed in order to prevent all out war. The real challenge will be handling what hides in the shadows of the Dark Side trying to stop them.
1. Fire in the Sky

Chapter 1

**A/N: so, this story idea and the OCs in it were given to me by ****_Gabeherndon308_****, whom I've been working with to get this project going****_. _****As I'm sure you've noticed, this is a Star Wars and Dragon Prince crossover. I don't own either one of these. Any ways, I'm sure you'd all like to see what this is all about.**

**_Bold italics is narration_**

**_Regular italics is flashbacks_**

**_/comms/_**

-.-

**_A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, the Galaxy was in chaos. The Jedi Order had fallen at the hands of Darth Sidious by having the clone troopers and his apprentice Darth Vader through Order 66. _**

**_But, a few Jedi still remain. One of which, is a young Padawan by the name of Trezac Navo'x. Splitting away from his master, he travelled to a planet on the far reaches of the Outer Rim. A planet filled with the force by which the locals refer to as Magic. A world, known as Xadia._**

Thunder rumbled over the kingdom of Katolis, lightning flashing in the sky giving the outline of a vast city with a large palace in the center. Inside said palace, a man with greying brown hair stood by the window watching the storm in an effort to ease his frustrations over the infernal object covered by a tarp just a few feet away. No matter what spell he did, no matter which incantation he cast, the secrets of that infernal mirror would refuse to come to the light.

He watched as lightning spread out across the clouds. It was always amazing to watch the power of the sky. To watch the winds ripple over the earth, for the rain to fall from high above, and for the beautiful and destructive power of lightning to crackle over the darkened skies, spreading out in intricate patterns only visible for a split second.

It really was a pity humans couldn't wield that power without the aid of a primal stone. But that's why they had dark magic, to wield the power the dragons and elves held so tauntingly above their heads for centuries.

Lightning flashed in the sky, nearly blinding the High Mage of Katolis. The glass vibrated at the responding clap of thunder, and he looked out. This storm was likely going to get worse before it got better.

Grey eyes turned back up to the sky to watch for the next bolt and landed on a dull glow coming through the clouds. Frowning, his brows furrowed as he watched it get brighter. That wasn't lightning…what was it?

The answer turned out was a fireball falling from the sky. Eyes widening, a pale hand pressed up against the glass and watched the flaming object crash into the forest just outside of the city. Grabbing his staff, he ran through the halls, skipping up steps of the spiral staircase and slamming his fist on the door, ignoring the surprised exclamations of the guards. "KING HARROW! KING HARROW!"

On the other side of the thick doors, he heard shuffling, and the door opened, revealing a disgruntled man with dark skin, a beard, and long hair tied back in intricate braids. "Viren? Do you know what time it is?" he grumbled looking towards the window. "It's tomorrow."

"I am aware of the time," Viren answered. "But it's an emergency!"

"Did something happen to the boys?" Harrow said.

"They're fine. But something crashed just outside the city, in the forest. It was a large ball of fire. It could be an attack from the elves!"

Harrow rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Are you sure that it's not just a fire caused by the lightning?"

"Yes! It was a fireball that fell through the clouds and into the forest! I swear!" Viren exclaimed. "Have I ever led you wrong?"

King Harrow merely raised an eyebrow.

"Ok, ok, don't answer that!" Viren waved his hands. "Please Harrow, there's something out there. I know it."

The king sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Let me get changed and gather the men."

-.-

"Viren," Harrow grumbled swinging up onto his horse, "I swear if you wake me up this early again, I'll execute you."

"Good morning to you too Harrow."

"So…are we going?" Soren called looking only half-awake.

Viren nodded, "Yes, we should get moving. We don't know if this storm is going to get worse."

"Great."

Kicking their horses into gear, they rode out into the storm towards the pillar of the dark smoke rising up into the storm clouds above. Branches waved wildly in the wind, some occasionally breaking and snapping off onto the muddy ground as the troupe galloped through the darkened woods. The only light came from the burning object ahead and from lightning flashing above, the rains having doused their torches soon after they left.

Slowing their horses to a stop, they ground tied them and carefully pulled out their blades, trying to be as silent as possible in order to not alert whoever, or whatever had crashed in their kingdom. Fortunately, the sounds of the storm covered the rustling they made as they approached the glowing light of the fire. They crouched down in the brush, waiting for the King's orders as they surveyed the situation.

What they saw stunned them.

It was unlike anything they'd ever seen. It looked like a kite children would play with as they ran through the town, but, it was made completely of metal. Bits and pieces were scattered around what used to be a clearing, large craters and flames surrounding the strange objects.

There was a loud crack, making all of them stiffen in alarm as they raised their weapons towards the object. It sounded like glass, like cracking glass.

The troops glanced between each other in confusion. There was no way that was glass…right?

The cracking sound continued and everyone ducked behind their shields as the dome-top of the crashed thing broke apart, sending shards of glass flying around the clearing and implanting themselves in trees, the dirt, and narrowly missing several of the men.

Peering up from behind their shields, they watched with wide eyes as a young, clearly human, man crawled out of the broken dome. There was a cry of pain as he tried to stand up, sliding down the metal hull and collapsing on the ground. He tried to get up, his arms shaking under the strain before he collapsed again.

Harrow emerged from his hiding spot, ignoring his high mage's protests as he knelt down beside the unconscious stranger. Green eyes widened as he took in the appearance of the new arrival. He had brown hair just brushing his chin, pale skin, and a set of red-colored robes; but, what was most noticeable to the King, was the fact he couldn't have been much older than his own son, Callum.

"King Harrow! Back away from him!" Viren demanded grabbing the ruler's arm and yanking him back.

Ripping his arm out of the High Mage's grip, he narrowed his eyes at the dark wizard, "He's a child Viren!"

"I can sense his power, Harrow. He's dangerous!"

"He's injured!"

"We don't know his motives! I say we eliminate the problem here and now!" Viren growled as his eyes flashed.

"For the last time, I am not killing a _child,_ Viren!" Harrow snapped, picking the unconscious boy off the ground. "One of you ride ahead, get the Court Physician."

Nodding, a young guardswoman, swung up onto her horse quickly turning around and riding off as the others moved to help the King onto his horse with the strange boy.

-.-

Green eyes slowly opened as they adjusted to the bright lights streaming through the windows. Blinking a few times, they focused on a grey, stone ceiling above. This is so not where he passed out.

Sitting up, he raised an arm squinting against the harsh lights as he took in his surroundings. He was in a bed, wearing a set of silken clothes that had to either be pajamas or very fancy medical clothes. The room itself was fairly bare, his clothes were piled in a corner on a chair by an empty desk, there was a dresser, a nightstand, and a wooden door.

There was a click as something unlocked and the young man sprung to his feet settling into a fighting stance watching as the door began to open. A tall, dark skinned man walked in, wearing ornate clothes and a crown.

Green eyes a few shades darker than his own flickered to the bed, filling with surprise before they shot to him. The man visibly relaxed, a smile settling on his face. "Well, hello there. The doctor wasn't sure when you'd be waking up. That was some accident you had."

The young man watched him warily for a moment before lowering his stance. From what he could tell, the crowned man was being genuine and currently bore him no ill will. Good. The last thing he needed were the Sith finding out where'd he'd gone.

"Allow me to introduce myself: I'm Harrow, King of Katolis. And you might be?"

A king, well that explained the crown. "Trezac Navo'x, Jedi Padawan," he answered.

Harrow smiled widely, "Welcome to Katolis Trezac. Now, as much as I'm sure you want to rest, there are a few questions we have before you can be let to roam around the kingdom."

Trezac rolled his eyes, obviously. Since when were there never questions would he have to answer? "I figured as much," he grumbled crossing his arms defensively. "What do you want?"

"How about we ask each other questions?" Harrow offered taking a chair and casually sitting down leaning his arms on the back. "This way we can get to know each other?"

"Sure."

"Great," the King smiled again. "Now, we found you in a crashed object in the forest, what was that?"

"A ship," Trezac replied, "well, a spaceship. It allows me to travel through the stars, which is how I got here. My turn, where am I?"

"You're in my kingdom, Katolis, but more specifically, you're in my palace. We brought you here after we recovered out from your ship's wreckage," Harrow supplied. "Next question: You said you were a Jedi Padawan. What is that?"

Lifting a hand, Trezac summoned his lightsaber to him from across the room, making the ruler jump as it landed in his palm. He turned it on, letting the blue energy blade glow brightly for a minute before deactivating it. "This is a lightsaber. As Jedi we can wield these and use the force."

"The Force?"

"It's a cosmic energy, that binds everything together," he attempted to explain. Yoda always said it better. "You really don't know what it is? I can sense this planet's full of it."

Harrow nodded, "So you're a type of mage. Yes, magic is quite common here in Katolis. In fact, our own High Mage would be happy to work with you. Now, I believe it's your turn for a question."

"It's not magic, it's the force."

Harrow shrugged, "Perhaps, that's merely our perspectives."

Trezac nodded, he could accept that. Glancing down, he contemplated what to ask next, "You said this place was Katolis? Is it the name of your planet? Do you rule it?"

The King laughed heartily, making the young teen jump slightly in surprise. "No, no. Katolis is merely my kingdom; one of the many in this world. Our world is known as Xadia. My turn: You said you came from space? How is that possible?"

"It's been possible for hundreds of worlds for centuries. I've been to more planets than I ever want to list. That ship your found me in is one of the ways we travel throughout the galaxy between worlds," he explained watching the king warily. "You don't seem very surprised by this?"

King Harrow shrugged, "I've seen plenty of strange things over the years. Rock monsters made of lava, dragons breathing lightning, magic changing inanimate objects into living things; being able to travel beyond the stars seems plausible. Especially considering your ship was unlike anything we've ever seen. Your Jedi civilization must be very advanced."

"It…it was."

"Was?"

Trezac crossed his legs, looking down. "We…we were betrayed. We were fighting a war, against the dark. Jedi, we're peacekeepers, we protect light and represent good. Our enemies, the Sith, were leading a war against us. They…they did something, made our men turn on us, made brother turn on brother. I barely managed to get away. My ship, it was damaged in my escape, and I crashed here."

"Well, you're more than welcome to stay here," Harrow offered. "I'm sure Lord Viren would value your input and skills, and there's kids your own age here. Viren's children, Soren and Claudia, and my own boys Callum and Ezran. They'd all be happy to have a new friend."

"You really don't—"

"I insist, it's no trouble for us. Besides, you might be able to help Callum with his sword skills. I'm not sure Soren is proving to be the right teacher for him. If you don't mind that is?"

"Well…I guess if it means I earn my keep," Trezac agreed with a small smile.

-.-

"Callum, Ezran, I'd like you to meet our new guest, Trezac," Harrow smiled introducing the young Padawan to his two sons.

Green eyes flickered over the two boys. The younger one was clearly related to Harrow, they had the same hair, same skin, the only difference was the eye color. The older boy didn't look like either of them, he had green eyes like the king, but that was the only similarity. Perhaps, he was adopted? Or it was a blended family?

"Hi!" the small boy waved holding a…yellow, spotted, lizard thing. "I'm Ezran! This is Bait!"

"I'm Callum. Nice to meet you Trezac."

The Jedi bowed, "Pleasure to meet you both. Thanks for letting me stay here with you."

"It's no problem Trezac," Harrow reassured, patting his shoulder. "Trezac here is a Jedi."

Callum and Ezran looked at each other then back at their father. "What's a Jedi?" a new, slightly condescending voice asked as three more people entered the hall.

"Ah, Lord Viren, I was starting to wonder about you," Harrow greeted inclining his head towards the brunette man with greying hair and a staff. "Trezac," he motioned to the lord, "this is Lord Viren, he's the High Mage of Katolis, and these are his children, Claudia."

"Hi there!" a girl with long black hair and a matching dress with gold accents greeted with a shy wave.

"And Soren, the Captain of my Crownguard."

"Yep, try not to let my brilliance overwhelm you," the blonde said tilting his chin up.

"So anyways," Viren coughed, "What exactly is a Jedi?"

"We're intergalactic peacekeepers that use the force to drive back the dark side," Trezac answered. "The Force is an energy existing throughout the galaxy that binds everything. In fact," he narrowed his eyes, sensing something through the force, "several of you happen to be strong in it."

"The force?" Soren questioned skeptically

"Ah, a special type of magic user," Viren remarked stroking his beard thoughtfully. "I guess that would be expected, Claudia and I are mages. Which explains why your presence is so noticeable."

The young man nodded, "Yes, but it wasn't merely you two I was referring to," he motioned to the two princes, "I can sense it from them as well."

"Cool! We get to learn magic," Callum grinned. "Hopefully I'm better at that than sword fighting!"

Viren stepped forwards, his eyes narrowing. "Perhaps at another time. We should learn more about this magic first. Perhaps you'd be willing to show us?"

Trezac nearly smacked his forehead. The Force wasn't magic! Pulling his lightsaber off his belt, he held it out, using the force to lift it into the air. It began to turn and he took a calming breath, stopping it and positioning it vertically before pressing the button, letting the blue blade flicker to life once again. Seeing he made his point, Trezac dropped it, the blade sheathing and plopping into his hand. "That good enough?"

"That was amazing!" Claudia exclaimed. "How did you do that? What spell was it? You didn't even use any words! What is that thing? Is it a primal stone?"

"A primal what?"

The girl tapped her nose and ran off, leaving all of them confused.

"Uh…" green eyes flickered to the other members of the group, "is that normal?"

Lord Viren sighed loudly, "Unfortunately for her."

"HERE!" Claudia exclaimed returning. She nearly tripped over her dress, wincing as she steadied herself and the blue orb in her hand. Lifting her hand in the air, blue lines began to trail from her fingers and a rune took shape. "Aspiro."

She blew air into the rune and Trezac's jaw dropped as a strong breeze ruffled his hair. "Wow."

"I know right!" Claudia grinned. "This primal stone contains one of the six primal sources inside! A storm captured from the top of Mt. Kalik! See!" She shoved the stone into his hands, and Trezac looked inside, sure enough, there was a storm with clouds, lightning, the whole nine yards. "I can show you a few more spells if you'd like."

"Sure, sounds great."

-.-

On the bridge of a ship, a tall dark figure sensed a disturbance in the force. One that he hadn't sensed in some time.

Footsteps came from his right and there was a loud gulp from the sniveling officer next to him. "L-Lord Vader. You have an incoming transmission from the Eleventh Sister and Twelfth Brother."

Whirling around, the Sith Lord ignored the man's yelp as he strode into the hologram room, glaring down at the two bowing figures. "Your report."

/We've managed to kill three escapees hiding on Rhodia/ the female apprentice spoke.

"Good. Because now you two have a new assignment. I have sensed a disturbance in the force. The apprentice of Obi-Wan Kenobi lives. Find him, and end him."

**A/N: hey guys! I'm here with a new story that was suggested to me by ****_Gabeherndon308_**** and we've worked together to make this. I'd love to hear what y'all think so far and I'll see y'all in the next chapter!**


	2. Eye for an Eye

Chapter 2

**A/N: ok, next chapter! Remember, I don't own TDP or these OCs. **

**_Flashbacks/dreams/visions_**

**_/comms/_**

"Lord Viren, King Harrow hasn't risen yet!" the guards protested as the High Mage once again strode right into the King's chambers. Walking to the windows he opened the curtains, allowing light to stream in and making Harrow's bird squawk.

There was a groan from the bed. "Viren, didn't I tell you if you ever woke me up this early again, I'd have you executed?" Harrow grumbled sitting up and glaring at the mage.

Viren cleared his throat, thinking back to last week's conversation. "I'll, uh, give you a moment." Turning away, he walked onto the balcony, giving the king the privacy he needed in order to change.

"So what's so important that you come into my bedroom risking your life like this?" Harrow asked walking out with his bird perched happily on his arm.

"Assassins."

"I see," Harrow mused carefully letting Pip walk onto his wooden perch set on the balcony for the bird.

"A scout discovered them on patrol just before dawn."

"Well don't look so grim," the King smiled. "We've fought off plenty of assassins. Haven't we Pip?" The bird whistled as he stroked its feathers.

Viren sighed, "It's different this time. We believe they're Moonshadow Elves."

King Harrow's teasing face turned grim. "Moonshadow Elves? How did the scout escape?"

"I don't know. It was muddy, wet, dark; somehow he got very lucky."

"The Crown Guard won't be enough to hold them off," Harrow stated. "Send for General Amaya and the Standing Battalion."

"They're too far, they won't make it back in time."

"What's tonight's moon?"

"Full."

Harrow gave a bitter chuckle, "Of course it is."

"With the Moonshadow Elves at the height of their power, no defense shall stand against them."

"Then we won't defend, we'll attack," Harrow growled. "We must find them today in the light of the sun and stop them before it's too late."

Now that was a plan Viren could get behind.

-.-

Trezac sat under the shade of a large tree in the courtyard mediating while Callum and Soren sparred. Well, more of Soren proceeded to beat Callum with a wooden sword trying to get him to understand sword fighting.

"Claudia!"

Opening his eyes, Trezac looked up and nearly yelped at the sight of the sorceress standing just a few feet away with a book in her hand looking just as confused. "Oh. Hi Callum!" she said turning to wave at the boy before looking back to him, "Hi Trezac. Is this tree new?"

"Relatively, it's only been there for 300 years," Callum replied.

He rolled his eyes and went back to mediating. Something told him he'd need peace of mind today.

"Prince Callum, Trezac Navo'x," a woman in white robes said striding onto the courtyard, "the king needs to speak with both of you urgently."

He young Jedi sighed and got to his feet, so much for a peaceful meditation.

-.-

King Harrow dismissed his counsel as his sons and the young Jedi entered the throne room, looking confused as to why they'd all been summoned. "Boys! You're going on a trip! To the Banther Lodge!" the King said as they approached him.

"But it's spring," Callum said, "that's the winter lodge."

"Well, winter is coming, eventually."

That made Trezac raise a brow. Why in the Force would they be going there _now_?

"What will we do?" Ezran questioned holding Bait. "Everything fun there has to do with snow and ice."

"Maybe you can invent new versions to show Trezac using…dirt and rocks," Harrow suggested. "You could build a dirt-man! Or, what about mud sledding?! That could be a thing!"

Neither prince looked thrilled at the idea, in fact, Trezac kind of agreed. Why waste all the time getting dirty? And he doubted it'd be easy to sled down mud, not if it hadn't freshly rained.

Seeing the boys' reluctance, Harrow turned firm. "Look, this is something I needed you to do."

"But Dad—"

"It's decided," he interrupted. "You three will leave before sundown, so go pack up. Trezac, stay, I wish to speak with you."

The Princes nodded as Harrow escorted them from the room and closed the door behind them, turning back to face the young Jedi. "There's something else going on, isn't there?" he prodded gently. He could sense it, something was wrong, very wrong. Fear and anger were prevalent throughout the majority of the place and the young ex-padawan couldn't help but notice that things seemed to be tense.

"Assassins," Harrow informed and he straightened.

"Do you know where they are?"

Harrow shook his head, "We've sent teams to search for them, they've been unsuccessful. That's why I want you to go with the boys, you can protect them."

"What about you?"

"Trezac, I've done terrible things. And it seems I will pay the price for those mistakes tonight. I'm not going to try and fight this," he replied calmly. "Go pack your things. I want you and the boys to leave as soon as possible."

"Yes sir."

-.-

"Callum! We have to pack!" Trezac exclaimed stomping after the elder Prince.

"No! I'm going to help!" the stubborn teen replied grunting as he lugged his heavy shield towards the scouting party.

Hearing the two boys' debacle, Soren groaned looking at them as they argued in the courtyard. He raised a brow as he took in the Step-Prince. "You look…terrific," he interrupted, "but just so you know, that's ceremonial armor, it's three times as heavy and half as strong. Oh, but so shiny!"

Trezac pointed to Soren, "Thank you! See Callum, you aren't equipped for this!"

"I don't care," the prince huffed shuffling to a horse and throwing his shield on its back. "I know what's going on and I'm coming with you."

The knight and padawan shared an equally annoyed look as the teen flopped onto the saddle. Raising a brow, the jedi gave a motion to Callum and Soren huffed. Seems like it was his turn to knock some sense into the Step-Prince. "You're just a kid, Callum."

"I'll be fifteen in two months!"

"Oh, fourteen and three-quarters, wow!"

"Five-sixths," Callum corrected finally managing to sit properly in the saddle. "Soren, he's our king and he's my father. It's my duty to help him."

"Technically he's your step-dad, but I'm sure it's similar," Soren reminded taking a bite from an apple before looking at it in contemplation. "Think fast!"

Seeing the apple flying at him, Callum raised his shield, jumping when he felt something slam into. Startled, he scrambled back right off the horse. The armor-clad prince gave a cry, bracing for a very unpleasant impact.

Only it didn't come. Opening his eyes, Callum yelped as he was floating in the air. Trezac moved his hand and the prince's green eyes widened as gravity took over again, letting him flop onto the cobblestone courtyard.

"You were supposed to catch that," Soren grimaced. "Nice save 'Zac."

"Come on," the padawan said picking the boy up by his collar, we've gotta pack."

Callum grumbled under his breath watching the scouting party leave.

-.-

Trezac frowned, debating on what to pack. He wasn't entirely sure what all he'd need for this trip. And it wasn't like he exactly had much to begin with. The most he had with him when he crashed were the clothes on his back, his lightsabers, a cloak, and some binoculars.

The young man paced glaring at the empty sack. Ok, he just needed to think like his master; what would Obi-Wan pack?

Well, they were going to the winter lodge, so he'd need the cloak. Not to mention he didn't know how far it was, so food and drink pouches would also be necessary supplies. The binoculars would be handy for spotting threats while they travelled. He obviously wasn't leaving his lightsabers, only an idiot would do that. That basically covered the survival materials.

Perhaps he could ask Claudia for more books to study the strange form of the Force on this world. Once they got to the lodge, he would have time to spare. It would be the opportune moment to continue his studies.

Shoving his materials in the sack, he turned on his heel and went to find the High Mage's daughter.

-.-

He ended up finding her talking to Callum in the library.

"See this, it's a Primal Stone. It uses magical energy from one of the six Primal Sources," Claudia spoke showing Callum the stone she showed him when he arrived. "Look."

"Wow. What's inside?"

"It's a storm, a real storm, captured from the top of Mt. Kalik."

"You didn't tell me that," he interrupted and the mage smiled. "Well, it didn't come up. Besides 'Zac, you're magic is way cooler."

"It's not magic."

"You two are so lucky you get to learn magic," Callum sighed handing Claudia back the stone.

"Sword fighting isn't that bad," Trezac defended.

"Cause you're good at it. I'd trade places in a second."

"We all have thing's we'd rather do," the padawan stated. "Claudia I was wondering—"

"THAT'S IT!" she exclaimed tapping her nose at Callum before running off.

"I don't understand girls," the prince slumped.

Trezac shrugged, "You know where any magic books are?"

"Uh…no?"

"Darn…You packed?"

"Yeah. Ezran's still getting ready."

He nodded, looking at the window. "We should go get him. It's about time we left."

Following his gaze, Callum nodded in agreement and both teens ran up the stairs, momentarily stopping by the Jedi's room to grab his bag before they made it to Callum's chambers. Trezac set the bag down, leaning against the wall as the elder brother knocked on the door separating the princes' rooms.

"Ezran? It's almost sundown, are you ready?"

No response came from the other side and the older sibling rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed with whatever antics the younger was getting up to now.

Crouching down, Callum forced the door for the glow toad open and peered inside. "Ezran?"

Trezac felt his friend's panic spike. "What's wrong?"

"Ezran's gone!"

"He's what?" he questioned pushing Callum out of the way and peering through the doggie door into an empty room. "You've gotta be kidding me."

"Prince Callum."

There was a startled yelp. "Oh hey! We're all here, why wouldn't we be here?!"

Trezac could feel the guard's eyes on him as he started squeezing through the doggie door. "Uh…right. The King wishes to see you Prince Callum."

"Oh perfect! But he could've seen us all if he wanted to!" Callum lied again and Trezac wanted to slam his head against the floor. He really was a horrible liar.

A lighter tread of steps walked away and he heard a heavy one step closer, probably the guard. "Jedi Navo'x…are you all right?"

"Fine. Ezran's just up to some mischief and we need to get going," he grumbled starting to shimmy inside the dark room.

"Good luck," the guard said before leaving as the padawan continued to shove his way through the tiny door.

Dusting himself off, Trezac glowered. "Where'd you go ya little twerp?"

-.-

Seriously, how hard was it to find one ten-year-old prince?

Apparently, very, very hard. Trazac would have more luck getting a straight answer out of Master Yoda than finding this kid! Every time his force sense told he was close he'd enter a room and Ezran wouldn't be there! It's like the kid was a ghost!

Grinding his teeth, Trezac began searching behind one of the bookshelves in Lord Viren's study. Maybe there was a secret passage, something he was missing.

The door burst open behind him and Trezac jumped in surprise on the amount of fear rolling off the newcomer. "LORD VIREN! CLAUDIA!" Callum's voice exclaimed before two sets of green eyes met. The prince immediately dove behind the padawan, pointing at the door. "BEHIND ME!"

Seeing the assassin in the doorway, the young Jedi took a defensive stance in front of Callum, holding his lightsaber in warning. He didn't want to activate it, but he would if she continued to be a threat.

Her violet eyes narrowed spotting him, flickering down to the object in his grasp. He could sense her apprehension, she knew there was something more to his weapon than a simple stick like most primitive planets thought. She probably was Force-sensitive too. "You don't have to die," she spoke roughly with an accent. "There're only two targets tonight."

"Two?"

"I'm here for the King, and I'm also here for his son, Prince Ezran."

Green eyes widened, maybe it was a good thing Ezran made himself scarce. Callum, on the other hand, was floundering from shock. "You can't! That's not fair! How can you kill someone who's done nothing wrong?!"

"Humans cut down the King of the Dragons, and destroyed his only egg, the Dragon Prince. Justice will not be denied."

"If we're following the 'an eye for an eye' justice thing, we're gonna be left with a lot of blind people," Trezac grumbled.

The Elvish girl's eyes flared with anger. "That doesn't matter! The Humans started this war! Now we're ending it!"

With that, Trezac then did something that would've made the old Master Skywalker proud, "Fine then. "I'm Prince Ezran."


	3. Shadow of Doubt

Chapter 3

**A/N: hey everyone, back for another chapter! Glad to hear all've y'all's reviews and remember, the OCs in this story belong to ****_Gabeherndon308_****, and I don't own Star Wars or the Dragon Prince. **

**So, without further adieu, onwards to our epic tale of magic and adventure!**

Violet eyes narrowed and the assassin raised her sword. "I'm sorry about this, but I have to do this. I don't want to but I have to."

"Why?" Callum piped up peering out from behind the Jedi. "You know this is wrong."

"An assassin doesn't decide right and wrong, only life and death."

"that's very clever, but come on, really? How does this solve anything?" Callum said. "It's like Trezac said, and eye for an eye will leave a lot of blind people."

"The humans attacked us unprovoked! Now we're attacking you, provoked," she growled before the rest of her statement processed and her eyes narrowed as she raised her blade. "Wait…you said you were Ezran!"

"He was protecting me," Callum said stepping out from behind Trezac with his hands raised. "Don't blame him."

"Callum!" Trezac hissed shoving the other teen behind him.

"Guys?" a new voice spoke and Trezac cursed. "Guys?"

"Go away," the duo hissed at the wall.

"I found something."

The elf raised a brow, looking at the painting, then at the boys. "Are you talkin' to that painting?"

Callum chuckled nervously, "Uh, why would I do that? _Cause it's not a good time_!"

Ancients this little idiot was going to get them killed.

"Why?" The painting swung aside and Ezran stood in the newly revealed doorway, holding a jelly tart his mouth. Blue eyes widened when he noticed the situation. "Callum? Trezac? What's going on?"

There was an angry growl from the girl. "Which one of you is lying?!"

"Hey, how is this worse than you trying to kill us?" Callum countered.

"Have you met Bait?" Ezran asked holding his favorite pet up. "Say hello to my little friend."

Trezac felt a surge of power coming from the small creature as it began to glow and he instinctively covered his eyes. Bright light filtered between his fingers and he heard the girl cry out, her blades clattering to the ground as she was blinded.

"Follow me, I have to show you something!" Ezran exclaimed.

Without missing a beat, Trezac snagged Callum's arm, and pushed Ezran ahead, using the force to seal the painting shut behind them. He wasn't sure how long that would hold the assassin, but right now his priority was getting the princes out of here and to the Banther Lodge.

"Ok, I haven't been here long enough to know my way around this place, where are we going?" Trezac questioned.

"This way!" Ezran said, clutching Bait tighter as they ran.

Rolling his eyes, Trezac picked the little toad up and hoisted him under one arm. It would do them no good if Ezran got tired from carrying the little beast while they were trying to escape. At least he was used to making daring escapes with heavy supplies.

"YOU'RE ONLY MAKING THIS WORSE!" the assassin's voice echoed after them.

Trezac cursed, she recovered faster than he hoped she would.

"Worse how?!" Callum retorted and the Jedi felt the urge to smack the elder Prince. Seriously, shouting at your attacker will help them find you!

"Here!" Ezran exclaimed skidding around a corner and leading them to a dead end.

"Callum, don't shout back to her, that'll lead her to us," Trezac scolded before turning to Ezran. "Do you know where you're going?!"

"Of course I do! It's just time for a puzzle!" he said starting to mutter to himself as he began pressing the rocks in the wall.

They did not have time for this. "Let me," Trezac grumbled waving his hand and the boys jumped as the proper stones moved down and opened the next secret passage.

"I really should just bring you with me for these escapades," Ezran smiled.

"Run now, make game plans later!" Callum said as they began to leap down the stairs. Erzan raced to a candlestick, pulling down, revealing it to be a lever, triggering the passage to close.

None of them could deny the wave of relief that came through them.

Looking around the room, Trezac frowned. He could feel it, the Force. It was incredibly powerful here. Pulsing, almost like something alive. His gaze travelled to a pedestal of some sort, covered by a tarp. Was that the cause of the disturbance he was sensing?

"You sure she won't be able to figure it out?"

"No way! It took me over a month to figure out that combination," Ezran reassured.

The rumble from above, told them otherwise. "Get behind me!" Trezac commanded, grabbing his lightsaber from his belt as the elven girl came down the passage steps.

"How did you…?"

"I just pressed all the stones with the jelly handprints," she smirked.

Curse Ezran and his sweet tooth.

"What is this place?"

"Stay back," Trezac warned holding up the weapon. He didn't want to activate it, but if she didn't back down…

The girl's eyes locked with his, and the padawan could feel the rage starting to roll off her. "Runaan was right. There's nothing in humans worth sparing!"

Narrowing his eyes, Trezac activated his blade, illuminating the room with a dull blue glow. "You'll have to get by me first."

Violet eyes narrowed. "That shouldn't be a problem."

She lunged at him and Trezac thrust his hand out, using the force to toss her across the room. Flipping midair, she sprung off the wall and rolled back to her feet, looking more frustrated than before.

"Wait!" Ezran called out, interrupting the fight. "You need to see something."

"I'm not fallin' for that flashing frog trick again!"

"He's a glow toad. And there's no trick this time, please," Ezran replied pointing to the very pedestal Trezac had been drawn to earlier.

"…Fine. Uncover it, slowly."

"I can hear something, something alive," Ezran said removing the tarp.

Under it, a glowing egg was revealed. Light pulsed from in sync with the pulses he felt rolling through the Force. This was it, this was the source of the disturbance in the room.

And apparently, the others picked up on this thing's importance, if for a different reason. "It…it can't be."

"The egg, it wasn't destroyed."

"I'm guessing this is the Dragon Prince everyone's been talking about?" Trezac questioned.

"Y-Yeah, we thought it was destroyed," Callum stuttered. "What's it doing here?"

"Probably nothing good," Trezac frowned.

"This changes everything," the elf said, lowering her blades. "I can't believe it, if the egg lives…"

"Maybe it could stop the war," Callum realized.

"He's ok in there! I can feel it!" Ezran said and Trezac nodded.

"He's quite the strong little guy. I can feel the power he's giving off even now," he commented.

"Then that means he's healthy, good," Callum nodded as the group crowded around the egg trying to figure out what to do.

"Here's my question: If it was supposed to be destroyed, what's it doing here?" Trezac questioned.

"Because my father saved it."

They all turned, the elf and Trezac raising their blades as Claudia came down, holding the Primal Stone in her hand.

"Callum, Ezran, Trezac, get behind me. I can protect you from the elf," she snarled.

"Your father didn't save it! He stole it!"

"That's a lie!"

"Then why is it here? Why did your father make everyone believe it had been destroyed?" Trezac demanded pointing his saber at her.

"My father took it to protect us, so the elves and dragons couldn't use it against us."

Trezac blinked a few times to process the statement. "It's an egg."

"He's right. How can we use it?" the assassin agreed.

Claudia rolled her eyes, "Don't play dumb. You know it's a powerful weapon."

By the Force, she was serious. "It's an egg!" they both exclaimed.

Claudia's gaze turned to Ezran and Trezac moved in front of her protectively. "Don't be afraid. Just bring it here, and if she moves even an inch," she waved her hand in the air, a glowing rune forming on her fingertips with lightning starting to spark off it. "Just bring that thing here."

"It's not a thing! It has a mother! And it needs to go back to her."

Ezran nodded, pressing closer to Trezac. "She's right. It want's its mother."

Trezac glanced behind him, his green eyes meeting Ezran's own light blues. Reaching out with the force, he tried to sense if the elf was attempting to deceive them. He didn't sense any trace of deception, and he shared a glance with her, finding her eyes to be filled with sincerity. Glancing back to Ezran, Trezac nodded. They needed to get this egg home.

"Follow me!" Ezran exclaimed separating from Trezac's side as he and the elf sprinted down another passage.

"Don't worry, I won't hit Ez," Claudia said raising her arm and Trezac grit his teeth, holding up his saber. While he'd heard about deflecting Force lightning with sabers before from his master, he'd never actually had the chance to try. It wasn't an experience he was looking forwards to.

An experience he never got as Callum shoved Claudia aside, cuffing her to one of the chains in the room causing the Primal Stone to roll on the floor. "Callum! Trezac! What are you doing?!"

"The right thing, let's go!" he ordered and he padawan took the lead as the pair ran after Ezran and the elf.

It wasn't long before Trezac felt a surge from the Dark Side followed by the howl of a wolf. The young teen cursed. He should've seen it, he'd been so preoccupied in learning the Force on this world, trying to adapt to his new life, that he'd forgotten to see the alliance the users he knew had. Claudia, Viren, they were with the Dark Side.

"Keep going!" he ordered skidding to a stop. The lead shadow wolf growled and leapt at him. Raising his lightsaber Trezac attempted to cut through the animal, his eyes widening as his blade passed harmlessly through it. The wolf rematerialized and bit down on his leg, causing him to give a surprised cry and use the force to shove the beast back. He watched as the shadow reformed a few feet away and the wolf's hacles rised as it prepared to attack again.

Knowing that this was a fight he couldn't win, Trezac turned on his heel and ran, joining up with a bitten Rayla and the others at a dead end as the two wolves began to approach.

"I can't stop them, they're just smoke. My swords go right through them! I don't suppose your light blade thingy does anything to them?!"

"Unfortunately, no. Neither does a Force push," he said as they raised their blades watching the smoky animals warily. This battle was so not going in their favor.

"There might be something I can do, but I don't know if I can do it!" Callum spoke up.

"What're you waiting for? An invitation?!"

"Is this a guessing game? Just do it!"

The wolves raced towards them and Trezac held out his arm, trying to use the force to push them back. The smoky animals strained against his power, rematerializing closer and closer. It wouldn't be long before they got in striking distance.

"Aspiro!"

A gust of wind nearly knocked the two warriors off their feet, sending the shadow wolves dissipating down the hall.

"I knew you had potential in the force, never thought you'd tap in so soon after years of not training it," Trezac huffed, deactivating his blade.

"You never mentioned you were a mage," the elf remarked.

"Who me? I'm not really anything."

"You just did magic!" Ezran exclaimed.

"Yeah, that's what a mage is," the elf said pointing at the Jedi with her thumb. "Like this guy here; you're a mage."

Trezac sighed, here they go again. "It's the force, not magic," he corrected.

No one seemed to hear him over Callum's excited exclamation. "I'M A MAGE!"

The elvish girl pressed a finger to his lips shushing him, "No one like a loud mage."

"Sorry."

"Let's find a way outta here," Trezac said leading the way down the passage.

"Look, I need you to give me the egg. I need to get it to the roof right away," the girl said stepping in front of Ezran.

"What why?" the boy said holding the egg closer.

"You have to trust me."

"You were just trying to kill us," Trezac spoke up.

"Good times," Callum said with a sarcastic laugh.

"Hey! I'm trying to help you! Any moment now others will be arriving, others like me!"

"Assassins," Callum frowned.

"I need to show them the egg to stop them. Give it to me!" she exclaimed reaching for the egg and Trezac grabbed her hand, glancing at Ezran.

"Prince Ezran?"

The boy shook his head, keeping a tight hold on the egg, "I'll take you to the roof."


	4. Moonrise

Chapter 4

**A/N: hey everyone, hope y'all're enjoying the story so far. Here's the next chapter, as you can tell by the fact you're reading this. Anyways the OCs in here are ****_Gabeherndon308_****'s, not mine; I'm just the writer. And I don't own the Dragon Prince.**

"You're here. I know you are."

"Rayla," Runaan spoke, causing the elf to turn around to look at her mentor as he balanced on the railing, "you defied me."

"Runaan, you need to call off the mission."

The man's pale blue eyes widened and he hopped down, "You've lost your mind."

"Please listen to me, I've found something: the egg of the Dragon Prince!" she pleaded.

"That's impossible."

"The egg wasn't destroyed, it was stolen," he told him. "Their high mage was going to use it for dark magic but the human princes found it and they're only trying to help—"

"No," Runaan interrupted, "Humans are liars. This is a trick and a trap. You're a fool Rayla."

"She's not lying," Trezac said stepping out, "and she isn't a fool."

Runaan's eyes narrowed as he grabbed an arrow. "You will regret this."

"Show him."

Stepping out from behind the crates, Ezran held up the egg as Callum stood protectively over him. Across from them, the assassin stammered, levering his bow. "I-It's beautiful."

"How can we take vengeance for an act that never happened? You have to call it off."

The Elvish man looked truly regretful as he gave a reply, "Rayla, you know it doesn't work that way. We bound ourselves. There's only one way to release."

"Runaan, please," she begged. "This is a miracle, a chance for peace!"

"The humans struck down the King of the Dragons! Justice won't be denied. Give me the egg!"

"Callum, Ezran, Trezac, go."

"But—"

"Just keep it safe," Rayla said pulling out her blades.

Grabbing the Princes' arms, Trezac lead them away from the battle. Trying to find a place to hide, somewhere the assassin or the mages couldn't find them. They ran down into the courtyard and Trezac looked around, his gaze landing on a barrel by the cart of hay. He knew Ezran was fond of hiding in the cart, but Bait had a tendency to give them away. Picking the younger prince up, he used the force to remove the barrel lid, quickly putting Ezran inside with Bait. "Stay here."

Before Ezran could protest, the barrel lid was sealed over him, the only sign he was there being the faint glow coming through the planks. At least it was less noticeable than the hay.

"You stay here with Ezran, I'll go talk to the king," Callum said.

"Why don't you just call him Dad?" Ezran's voice echoed from within the barrel, interrupting Trezac's protest.

"He's the King, and I'm his stepson."

"I think he'd want you to, if you wanted to."

"…I'll be right back," Callum said turning on his heel and sprinting towards the Castle.

Groaning, Trezac began to give chase. "Stay there!" he called back to Ezran, the last thing he needed was the younger prince to go galivanting off on his own.

Running up the stairs of the tower, Callum pushed past the guards while Trezac stayed back as Soren—hopefully—stepped up to talk some sense into the prince.

"Whoa there step-prince. The king's busy trying not to die and stuff."

Nope, Soren was still useless.

Behind the Crownguard, the door opened, revealing the High Mage of Katolis. "You should not be here," Viren growled and Trezac stiffened. He didn't like what he was sensing from the man: anger, bitterness, and many other feelings that would drag one towards the Dark Side. Though, perhaps it was too late for the mage, Claudia was falling well as it was, and Viren was her father…Trezac felt so stupid for not sensing it sooner.

"I know what you did," Callum snapped, "you stole the egg of the Dragon Prince! We found it and we're keeping it safe."

"We?" Viren questioned, his gaze flickering to Trezac for a moment.

"The king will have you in shackles when he finds out about this!"

"What makes yu so sure he doesn't already know?" Viren questioned. Without waiting for an answer, he turned to his son, "Grab him!"

"But…he's the prince."

"Do it!"

Seeing the guards take a step forwards, Trezac used the force to give them a light warning push back. His job was to protect the Princes and to fight the Dark Side, Viren was currently a threat in both matters.

"Where is the egg Trezac?!"

"Far from _you_," he replied coldly, grabbing Callum and moving the teen behind him.

"I will give you two one more chance—"

"Before what?" the padawan hissed gripping his saber ready to activate it at a moment's notice. "Sounds to me like you're threatening a member of the royal family?"

The mage's face twisted, "You impudent little mongrels!"

"I've been called worse," Trezac deadpanned.

The conflict was broken by a chilled wind blowing up the spiral staircase, extinguishing the flames of the candles providing light.

"They're here!"

Sensing something flying at them, Trezac grabbed Callum, yanking him out of the way as an arrow flew past, embedding in the armor of a surprised Soren. With an annoyed glare, the Crownguard captain yanked the arrow out, pulling out his own blade.

"Defend the doors!"

A powerful presence moved towards them and Trezac could make out the form of a see-through, glowing elf. He took down the first two guards with a swift kick before leaping across to another guard as four other elves followed close behind, one being Runaan, who Rayla had been fighting earlier.

"KING HARROW!" Callum called over the clash of blades, looking terrified as one of the elves tried to break down the door. "DAD!"

Shoving his hands forwards, Trezac willed all the strength her could muster into a force push, sending the whole elven party and Viren flying down the hall. Sharing a nod with Soren, Trezac grabbed Callum's arm, taking off down the stairs, jumping over the bodies of the fallen.

Hopefully his efforts would by the Katolis soldiers time to regroup.

The duo ran out into the courtyard where Rayla and Ezran stood waiting with the egg. Trezac felt a little relieved, Rayla could've just simply taken the egg and left Erzan behind to his fate, but she didn't.

"Say the word and I'll go back into that tower with you," Rayla said handing Callum his pack as Trezac rummaged through his bag, looking for his second saber. If they were going back in he'd need it.

Callum shook his head, "No. it's up to us now. We have to return this egg. We have to keep it safe and carry it to Xadia."

"And take it back to its mother," Ezran smiled.

"We could change things, we could really make a difference."

"Just the four of us," Callum smiled and there was an angry grunt from their feet as Bait glared up at them, "Five of us."

"Let's go, we don't have any time to waste," Trezac said leading the way out of the castle only stopping to avoid guards rushing by. Seeing the coast was clear, the group ran out onto the bridge.

Ezran skid to a stop, turning to look back at the castle with his brother. "Dad will be ok, right?"

"He has to be, he has the finest guards in the kingdom protecting him," Callum reassured though Trezac could sense doubt rolling off the older brother.

Ezran nodded with a small smile, turning and allowing the group to race into the forest.

After less than half an hour of running, Rayla trailed to a stop just as Trezac felt something in the Force, something dark. Looking up, his gaze landed on a shadowy bird flying above, one Rayla appeared to notice too. Not that it was surprising, he could sense it, she was strong in the force too.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Callum asked.

"Oh, uh, nothing, we should stop and rest soon, it's a long journey to Xadia."

Trezac could agree with that, it had been and long day and night for them all. "I agree, we should rest here. No point in exhausting ourselves," he stated getting a reluctant nod from the elf. "I'll take first watch."

"Just wake me up for the next shift," Rayla grumbled.

As everyone else curled up on the ground for the night, Trezac leaned against a tree, sighing. Hard to believe he crashed here just, what, a week ago? Seemed like all that time just flew by.

A light pressure came to the crown of his head, and the padawan frowned running his fingers through his hair as he felt something climb onto it. Bringing his hand down, he was surprised to find a form of winged arthropod, it was pale and had long green wings. He felt something light brush against his own energy, like it was curious; returning the push gently, he was pleasantly surprised when the moth's wing's fluttered in response. It pressed it's own energy through the Force to him again, almost insistent. Trezac frowned, Master Yoda had always said that the Force worked in mysterious ways. Perhaps this was one of those ways now. Opening his energy to the moth's own strange force, it opened its wings and it began to glow.

-.-

The Twelfth Brother sighed as he sensed a ripple through the Force. Finally, they had located Obi-Wan's former padawan; their Master would be most pleased.

"Did you sense that as well?" Eleventh Sister questioned standing at the door to his chambers.

"Yes," the Clawdite replied standing up. "Tell the Captain to head for a world called: Xadia."


	5. Perspectives of Monsters

Chapter 5

**A/N: yes, I know the last chapter was a little short, but hey, at least now the real adventure to deliver the Dragon Prince beings right? Anyways, I'm just the author, the OCs belong to ****_Gabeherdon308_**** and I don't own TDP.**

Rayla sat on a rock glaring at the silver binding on her wrist, tugging at it experimentally her brows furrowed as it remained tight. Raising a skeptic brow, she brought her wrist to her mouth and clamped her teeth down on the fabric, tugging at it like a wolf, hoping the binding would break. Nearly falling off her perch, she released the band and sat back up glaring daggers at it.

If physical means didn't work, then perhaps magical ones would. Though…it wasn't like she knew much magic. Maybe there was a phrase or special code?

"Unbind yourself!" she tried, frowning when the ribbon remained firmly in place. "Unbind…thyself?" Still no reaction from the binding. "Unbindo?!"

Unsurprisingly, the binding remained.

With a sigh, she looked over to the trio of humans, finding all three asleep. What made her balk was the creepy little frog-thing glaring at her. It gave a grunt, and for some inexplicable reason, Rayla felt mildly offended.

"Don't judge me! So what, I'm talking to my ribbon-thing? How's that any worse than talking to a…whatever you are?" she grumbled. The frog's eyes narrowed and it changed to a darker hue, though the shadows made it difficult to tell what particular color. Narrowing her own eyes, Rayla met his challenging gaze. Whatever was going on right now, she was not going to lose to a _frog_.

Said frog then used its tongue to lick its own eye making her gag and turn away.

Looking up at the castle, guilt began to weigh in her chest as she heard bells begin to ring from the Castle on the ridge above. Seems she was right; the stories she'd heard were true, the only thing that would remove this binding was by eliminating her target. And now that she had the egg, there was no need for Ezran to die; meaning that binding would remain till her hand was gone.

-.-

"Callum. Callum. Hey!"

Callum jumped looking up at Rayla as she looked down at him with a raised brow.

"That's you're name right? Callum? Clem? Or was it Camel?"

"Uh, it's Callum," he corrected. "Guess I was just distracted trying to draw this Primal Ball."

"Primal Stone."

"Uh, right. It holds the pure essence of a Primal Spirit inside," he continued, frowning when the elven girl rolled her eyes.

"Primal Source."

"Right."

"You do know what the six Primal Sources are?" she questioned.

Callum looked down, feeling embarrassed. He was a mage, and he didn't even know what the Primal Sources were. How ridiculous was that? "If I say yes are you going to make me name them?"

There was a frustrated groan from the girl to his left. She held out her hand, motioning to his sketchbook. Handing it over, the girl began to draw six symbols on a blank page. "All magic in the world comes from the Primal Sources. They're the original and purest forms of magical energy," she began to explain, "the sun, the moon, the stars, the earth, the ocean, and…" she tapped the Primal Stone.

"The sky," he finished and she nodded.

"Yes. To cast a spell, a mage needs Primal Energy. So that wind breath spell you did? You'd usually need a storm or at least a strong breeze. But with that stone, you have all the power of the sky, any time."

"Wow."

"Primal Stones are incredibly rare," she continued, "They've been sought after by the most powerful archmages in history. And now, somehow you have one."

She handed the book back and Callum looked at the images. His brows furrowed, they looked familiar...but where—of course! "I've seen these before, at the Banther Lodge! There was this little cube thing, and it had these exact symbols on it."

"Uh…neat."

"What if it's magic? We have to go get it!"

"Wait what?" Rayla exclaimed standing up. "We have real problems to worry about. Ending the war, taking the dragon egg to Xadia, remember?"

"Xadia's to the east, so is the lodge it's on the way!" he pressed.

"Great. I'm sure it won't be crawling with humans. Humans that're looking for you and want to kill me! Yay!"

"No, it's the winter lodge. It's been empty for months. Trust me."

"Callum," Trezac spoke up making the prince jump as the jedi rose to his feet, "I don't think this is a good idea. Your father was planning on sending you two to the lodge."

Drat, he forgot about that. "Well, considering we never left the kingdom, they probably just assumed we changed plans," he tried.

"Callum," the brunette boy scolded crossing his arms. "It's too risky."

He sighed, guess it was time for the big guns. "Guys, look. Princes are supposed to be good at things: uh, sword fighting, leadership, riding horses. But I've always been kinda bad at, well, everything. So when I tried that spell, I was sure I would end up on fire or covered in spiders…but it worked. And Rayla, when you called me a mage, that just felt…right. I—I just have a feeling the this cube thing could help."

"Callum?" Ezran yawned rubbing his eyes as the boy sat up. "I had a weird dream."

The older brother sighed, stepping forwards and kneeling beside his baby brother. "It wasn't a dream Ez. All of that was real."

The younger boy looked skeptical, "You sure? There was this giant pink hippopotamus, and I pulled its ear off cause it was made of taffy. I then tried to thank the hippo, but it couldn't hear me. Cause I was eating its ears."

"Uh…no. That was a dream. I thought you meant the elves, the smoke wolves, the dragon egg. That was all real."

"Hey sad prince," Rayla spoke up making the brothers look at her and their friend. "Let's go get your cube thingy."

"Really?"

"We need to gather more supplies," Trezac stated. "After that no more detours."

"Or heartfelt speeches," Rayla added.

-.-

"Hey guys? Can we—"

"We're not stopping yet," Rayla interrupted Ezran's question as the small group kept walking.

"But I'm—"

"No snacks."

Ezran glared at the elf girl's back, "I was gonna say thirsty."

Rayla grabbed a flask off her belt. "Drink this."

Ez stepped forwards only to be stopped by his brother. "Uh, no thank you. We don't drink…that."

Rayla looked at Trezac and merely got a confused shrug. "What?"

"Blood," Callum answered. "We don't drink blood. We don't mean to be rude, but, uh, you can keep it."

"It's moonberry juice," Rayla growled shoving the flash into the younger boy's hands. "Is that what humans think we are? Bloodthirsty monsters?"

"To be fair, I have met a race that grows their children in the brains of the dead," Trezac commented shivering at the thought of Geonosis. That was one messed up planet.

The other three shared horrified and disgusted looks before looking back to him. "You're kidding…right?"

He shook his head, "Lost a lot of good men to them."

"What race was that again?" Rayla asked.

"They aren't around here," Trezac replied, holding out his palm and letting another of the green arthropods land on it. "But imagine these but the size of…what was your leader's name again?" he looked at Rayla and the girl made a horrified face.

"Wherever that is, we're not going there."

"I doubt we could get there from here."

"Besides," Callum spoke up, "those could just be stories we heard. I'm sure you've heard scary human stories living in Xadia. Both sides have terrible, awful stories about each other—Oh look, we're here!" The Banther Lodge came into view through a break in the trees, allowing them to survey the area. "See, no winter, no humans at the winter lodge."

"Yet," Trezac muttered looking skeptical.

"Let's just make this quick," Rayla sighed. "Tell me where the thing is and I'll be in and out."

Callum whirled Ezran around, rummaging through the younger boy's bag till he found his sketchbook. "Ok, so this is the game room," he began drawing, "the cube should be in there." Tearing out the finished product, he handed it to the assassin wo raced through the clearing before springing and flipping her way into an open window on the second floor. "Like I said, no winter no humans."

"I've said it once and I'll say it again, your father was sending us here," Trezac reiterated, "so if guards aren't here yet, they will be soon."

The brothers shared a worried look and Ezran nodded, "He's right, it's odd that there's no one here yet."

Almost on cue, a horn blared in the distance. The three boys raced to the ledge, grimacing as they saw the approaching battalion. "Yeah, we probably shouldn't have come here."

"That's what I tried to tell you!" the padawan snapped. "Distract them, I'll warn Rayla!" Whirling on his heel, Trezac sprinted for the lodge, force-jumping onto the roof of the entryway. He climbed through the window and found Rayla crawling on support beams not too far ahead. With quiet leaps, he bounded after her, grabbing her arm and narrowly avoiding having his head removed from his shoulders.

"Trezac?" she hissed.

"Troops," he whispered and her eyes widened in realization.

"I knew it!"

"No time to worry about that now," he said. "Ezran and Callum are distracting them. We need to find the cube and—"

He was cut off as the door burst off its hinges below them, revealing two soldiers and two surprised looking princes. "I don't believe in locks," the redheaded soldier spoke as the woman made motions with her hands. "Someone's here."

"Get the cube," he hissed creeping across the upper banisters and jumping down in front of the group. Standing up, he didn't need to pretend to put on an annoyed expression as he raised a brow at Callum. "Guess there was no need for me to go find a key."

"Uh…right!" Callum nodded as he picked up the plan. "Aunt Amaya, this is Trezac."

At his name, her eyes widened and a smile came to her face as she began signing. "So you're the strange magic user Harrow mentioned. He told me you'd be helping guard the princes. I'm glad to see that you've gotten them here safely, and we apologize for our tardiness, there were some…issues on the road."

"Sorry for making you think someone broke in," he shrugged following the general as she began to walk. Callum elbowed him, and Trezac looked up, refraining from facepalming as he saw Rayla glaring down at them, making a motion with her hand, the padawan's brows rose. She needed more time.

Thankfully, Callum also seemed to get the message as he knocked on the back of his aunt's shield. "Uh…Ezran has something to tell you!" he deflected shoving his little brother forth.

The younger boy clearly looked startled by suddenly being shoved into the spotlight. "I, uh, skipped breakfast," he lied. "I'm sorry."

Amaya narrowed her eyes and began signing again. "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!" she scolded. Grabbing the princes by the arms, she drug them into the kitchen, sitting them down in seats before Trezac yelped as she plopped him down in a chair as well as she and her men began scrounging through the kitchen. Going to a cabinet, she opened it pulling out a long baguette with a frown. "The food here is," she slammed it on the counter making a dent in the wood, "weapon's grade." She slammed the loaf on the table before stabbing a knife into the wood in front of the three terrified males. "Dig in."

Callum reached out, grabbing the loaf as Ezran began to attempt to remove the knife in the table. "Aunt Amaya, why are you here?" the elder brother questioned.

"I received a messenger bird from the king yesterday," Gren relayed as the general sat down across from them handing them a scroll.

Callum started patting his form with wide eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"He gave me a letter too, but I must've dropped it somewhere. What'd your letter say?"

Amaya handed it over and the three boys began to read.

_"General. The Castle is under threat. Assassins have infiltrated the kingdom. Moonshadow elves."_

"The worst kind," Amaya sneered.

_"Do not bring your force to the castle. Your orders are to immediately proceed to the Banther Lodge. Callum and Ezran will be there. They will be accompanied by a young 'Jedi' mage named Trezac. He'll be assisting in their safety till your arrival. Above all, see to it that my sons and their friend are safe."_

"Wait," she interrupted, "there's more on the back."

Raising a brow, the paper was flipped over. _"P.S. Once their safety is assured, the boys may wish to build a dirtman,"_ Callum read. "We do not wish to build a dirtman."

"No, we do not," Ezran said trying to saw through the bread.

"You're safe now boys," she smiled and Ezran nodded, finally breaking the loaf into two pieces. They all grimaced as there was a crunch as the boy tried to bite down on the so-called food.

-.-

There was a loud sigh from Callum as he slumped into the couch. "This is all my fault. We should've never have come here."

"Gee, it's almost as if I told you this would happen," Trezac remarked opening an eye from where he sat mediating by the fireplace.

"I know! I should've listened."

"But we found Aunt Amaya," Ezran interjected. "Maybe we should tell her."

"Tell her what?"

"About the egg…and Rayla."

Callum scowled, "We can't! Didn't you hear what she said? How she talked about elves? To Aunt Amaya elves are monsters."

"But if we just explain everything—"

"It won't work. Humans and elves just don't trust each other."

Trezac nodded, "I agree with Callum. If we tell her, there's a good chance that they could hurt Rayla, or worse. That outcome isn't likely to change until we return the egg and restore peace; and to do that, we need to find Rayla and leave." Getting to his feet, the padawan stretched. "You guys gather supplies, I'll see if Rayla's ready to go."

With steady steps, Trezac strode out the front door, past the guards who barely glanced his way. After all, as far as they knew, he was just another guard; so walking into the woods to inspect the perimeter would no doubt be a normal act. The bushes rustled as he slipped into the brush, crouching down and hiding from the troops as he crept deeper. Closing his eyes, he reached out with the Force, trying to pinpoint the familiar energy emanating from the elven girl.

At first he sensed several of the anthropoids he had nearby earlier. They felt like Rayla, but they were too small and weak to be her. His focus landed on a different energy, this one feeling much stronger than the little insects, but weaker and more…fiery, more wild than Rayla's did. It began to get closer and Trezac opened his eyes, watching as a small carnivore emerged from the brush. It had brilliant red fur with a yellow underbelly and paws, as well as an orange stripe running along from it's head to its bushy tail. Triangle-shaped ears perked up, and the animal gave a soft croon, cautiously stepping forwards.

Trezac smiled, kneeling down and holding a hand out towards the little critter. It sniffed at his hand for a moment, drawing back before cautiously licking it causing him to chuckle. "Well, aren't you a friendly little guy," he whispered gently petting its ear.

"That's a Firefox," Rayla spoke from behind making the Jedi jump. He didn't even sense her approach. "Never thought I'd see one here. Seems to like you."

"I've noticed," he remarked. "Have you found the cube?"

She shook her head. "Not yet, I had to make myself scarce before they realized that you three weren't the only ones trying to get into the place."

He nodded in understanding. "I'll get the Princes and our supplies, you get the cube, we'll meet up afterwards."

-.-

"Where is she?" Callum questioned as they crouched in the woods waiting for Rayla. "I thought you said she'd be here?"

"She was supposed to get the cube and meet us here," Trezac reiterated for the tenth time. "Something must've gone wrong."

"We need to help her," Ezran said clutching Bait to his chest.

Trezac nodded in agreement, "Where would your aunt be most likely to keep a prisoner here?"

"The basement," Callum answered. "There's a dumbwaiter in the kitchen that leads there. We can use Bait to blind the guards while you free her."

"Sounds like a plan," Trezac said. Getting to his feet, he raced for the entry to the basement. In front of him, the door began to creak open, making him force-jump onto the roof. Peering over the edge, he smirked as he saw General Amaya and Gren storm out, looking frustrated. Callum's bet was right on the money, this had to be where Rayla was being held. Silently hopping down, he nearly pulled out his lightsaber as the fox startled him, its ears perking up in attention and tail wagging. The padawan sighed, "Fine, you can come."

Creeping to the doors, Trezac pressed his ear to the door, trying to find the perfect opportunity. "Careful with those. Wouldn't want to lose a finger," he heard Rayla taunt. "I mean, can you imagine going through life with only four fingers?"

His brows went up, elves had four fingers? He didn't even notice. Maybe that was cause most races with less than five fingers he'd met tended to be more amphibious or insectoid.

From the other side of the door, there was a soft grinding, making him press closer to the door. Was that the dumbwaiter? Or was a guard about to attack Rayla? Either way, he'd have to make his move soon.

"Have you met Bait? Say hello to my little friend."

A flash came from under the door and Trezac yanked it open. Sprinting in, he used the force to hurl the disoriented guards across the room into a pile of barrels as the fox bit the ropes, breaking Rayla out of her bonds. The elvish girl grinned, picking up her blades and Bait.

"Thanks!"

"Don't mention it," he replied leading the way. "Callum and Ezran are waiting for us."

Regrouping, they sprinted through the foyer and out the front door past the guards. They ran for the bridge only to stop as they found their way blocked my more soldiers; turning around they all frowned. They were surrounded.

"Stop right there elf!" Gren spoke for Amaya as she strode forwards. "Callum, Ezran, Trezac, come here."

"Callum, we should just tell her," Ezran spoke up quietly.

"Boys, get away from her."

Seeing the aunt was about to get violent, Trezac began reaching for his lightsaber, he didn't want to hurt them. But they needed to get to Xadia, to end this infernal war.

Fortunately, Callum managed to get their attention. "Wait," he spoke up, before making motions with his hands, speaking in the same visual dialect the general used.

"What are you saying?" Rayla hissed.

"He said: if we don't let you go, you'll kill them and drink their blood. That you are a monster."

Both Rayla and Trezac looked at Callum in shared horror. In return, he gave them a nervous smile before looking back to his aunt. "See, so you have to let us go."

Amaya began signing again, "It's ok Callum. I've slain monsters before. Do it, take her out."

The archers fired and Trezac acted, using the force to make the arrow headed for her head fly sideways, allowing the assassin to slice through it. The second arrow came by as she dodged, cutting through a piece of her braid. As they began to knotch their bows again, Rayla already had her swords at the princes' throats.

"Go ahead, take another shot. But read my lips, the next time I swing my blade, I'll end both of them in half a second!" Rayla threatened.

Amaya's face darkened, but she raised a hand, ordering her men to stand down.

"Move humans," Rayla hissed glaring at Trezac and shoving Ezran and Callum along as they made unconvincing yelps of pain. Once they slipped down the steps out of sight of the men, they ran to the rivers edge where a boat sat waiting. "What now?"

"Now we get in," Trezac said handing Bait off to Ezran and making sure the fox safely jumped on board.

"I don't think a boat—"

"We don't have time for this," Trezac muttered grabbing her arm and yanking her in. A force-push caused the boat to move away from the shoreline, into the middle of the river. Away from the soldiers and towards Xadia.

-.-

Viren growled as he stormed into his chambers, slamming the door behind him. He'd been so close! So close to being able to have the power he needed to march on Xadia, to eradicate the threat and lead to a better world for humanity!

"Well that didn't go according to plan," a smooth female voice spoke.

Viren jumped, pulling out his staff. "Who's there?!"

"My, my, is that a way to treat allies?" a human woman said emerging from the shadows with a man. They both wore black armor and had strange devices on their hips. Ones that looked remarkabily similar to Trezac's. In fact, they had similar energy as well.

"Allies?"

"Of course," the woman smiled. "We have the same enemies," she opened her palm and he frowned as a hologram of Trezac appeared, "this one for instance. He's a traitor and a criminal. We've tracked him to your world."

"As, so your mages like he is," Viren mused tracing his beard.

The pair glanced at each other and looked back at him, "So do you want our help, or not?"


	6. Problems

Chapter 6

**A/N: I'm just the author, the OCs belong to ****_Gabeherdon308_**** and I don't own TDP.**

Callum leaned against a log taking watch as everyone else rested. Pulling out the cube, he looked over the symbols, wondering what exactly it was. He reached into his bag and pulled out the Primal Stone. Holding the pair up to each other, his brows shot up as the sky rune began to glow in response. When he separated them, the symbol stopped glowing, and only resumed if it was close to the stone again.

Could…could the cube sense Primal magic?

Green eyes darted to the being most likely to give him an answer. Slowly creeping to his feet, he crouched beside Rayla, holding the cube just a few inches above her sleeping form. As he suspected, the moon rune began to glow.

A hand grabbed his own, and Callum flinched as Rayla glared at him. "This doesn't end well for you."

Falling back, he gave her a challenging look as she sat up. "Last night you thought the cube was just a worthless toy," he stated, "but now we know—"

"It's a glow toy!" she sarcastically interrupted.

Bait and the Firefox cautiously approached the cube on the ground, looking curiously as the sun rune came to life. "Exactly," Callum said picking the cube up.

"Exactly," Rayla grumbled getting to her feet. "I'm going to find some food."

"Wait, we got food," Ezran said startling the pair. Evidently he was awake. "Trezac?"

There was a groan from a dark mass nearby and the Padawan sat up, his cloak pooling around him on the ground. "Yeah," he yawned rubbing his eyes.

"The food?"

"Oh, yeah, that," he mumbled reaching into his bag and pulling out a couple ration bars. "Here."

"What is this?" Rayla questioned holding the bar like it was something that would bite her.

"It's a ration bar," the padawan stated taking a bite of his own. "They're from my home. They carry all the nutrition you need for a meal. I'll admit, it's a little bland, but it's better than nothing."

The three natives of the planet frowned and hesitantly started taking bites of the foreign food. Trezac wasn't kidding about it being bland, even the rock-hard bread Ezran had grabbed had more flavor than these things. But they all supposed it would have to do. They needed the energy to reach Xadia.

"So," Rayla gulped, coughly slight on her bar, "Trezac, where exactly are you from?"

"Not your world if that's what you mean," he replied.

The elven girl's brows furrowed at that, thinking back on tales she once heard as a child. Ethari used to tell her about Startouch Elves who used to speak of other beings beyond the stars. Was that what this strange human was? A being from beyond the stars? Like what _he_ was said to be?

But that couldn't be possible. Trezac was human.

"Yeah," Ezran said finishing off the remainder of his bar, "he crashed here a week ago! I got to see his space ship, it was so cool!"

-.-

"And this is the throne room," Viren spoke opening the doors and leading the Eleventh Sister into the grand hall.

"How…quaint," she said following him inside.

"Might I ask, when will your…partner be joining us?"

"When he's ready," she replied.

"What exactly is he?"

"A Clawdite, they can mimic the forms of others, he just needs to find a suitable copy," she lied. Reality was that he needed to kill some poor soul so his cloaking tech could fully copy it and make him look human. But the high mage didn't need to know such things. It could damage their tedious alliance.

"Ah."

"Thought I might run into you here." The pair turned to see General Amaya and her translator Gren standing beside one of the pillars. "We need to talk."

-.-

Rayla stood on a ledge overlooking the vast human lands before her. Sitting down, she looked at her binding then back to where the humans sat gathering the remainder of their supplies. Guilt churned her stomach, almost making her return the strange human food as she looked at the binding on her wrist. The King was dead, their father was dead; and she hadn't told them. She supposed they deserved to know, but, on the other hand, they needed to work together to reach Xadia. If the princes found out, then they could go back on this alliance and choose to avenge their loss.

With a sigh, she pulled out one of her swords. "Here goes nothin'." Gently slipping the tip of the blade under the binding, carefully turning the blade up to avoid accidently slashing her wrists. "Easy now," she murmured trying to start cutting away at the binding.

In a moment of frustration, she pushed harder, nearly falling off the ledge in surprise as the blade slipped out from under the binding. Gritting her teeth, she tried again, "What is this thing made of?"

Sighing in defeat, she looked out over the land again. Suppose she'd have to find another way to get this binding off. Her thoughts drifted back to the two human mages accompanying her. While Callum was obviously a novice to magic, Trezac seemed quite familiar with the art—the non-Dark art, which was highly unusual for a human, but she wouldn't complain.

It was possible he knew of something to get the binding off. He could do spells without saying a word or even using a rune! That was almost unheard of!

There was no doubt that Trezac was a powerful mage, so he had to know something. And even if his spells didn't work, his strange weapons might. They almost reminded her of sunforged blades.

"HELP! HELP!"

Hearing the cry, she sprang to her feet and raced back to camp. She burst into the clearing alongside a certain red-clad mage, both of them pulling out their two blades looking around for a threat. "What is it what happened?"

Actually stopping to take in the scene, Rayla could see Trezac deactivate his glowing swords and facepalm. Callum was standing in the middle of the clearing, Primal Stone in one hand, lighting sparking off to his surroundings on the other.

"Help!"

"He tried to copy Claudia's lightning spell," Ezran exclaimed hiding behind a rock with Bait and the still unnamed Firefox, "but he doesn't know how to finish it."

"Yeah, I only saw he do the first half," Callum added. "But I'm very good at the first half!"

Trezac facepalmed again as Rayla looked like she wanted to smack the novice mage upside the head. "Seriously? That sounds like a really good and safe idea."

"Ok, lecture well-deserved, but what do I do now?"

"Trezac, you're a mage," Ezran spoke up again and all heads turned to the padawan.

"What I do still isn't magic! How many times do I have to tell you guys this?!"

Rayla grimaced. Ok, so clearly Trezac learned magic differently than most so he wasn't going to be much help currently. "Well, when you release a spell there's usually some kind of word or a phrase or something in ancient draconic."

"Uh, ok…anybody speak dragon? I don't speak dragon."

"Do I look like a protocol droid?!"

"You didn't hear Claudia say anything?" Rayla questioned wondering what exactly a protocol droid was. She'd have to ask later after they solved the current crisis.

"No! I—I mean when I grabbed her hand she might've called me a fool," he replied.

"Sounds about right," Trezac deadpanned.

"Yep," Rayla agreed. "Ok, give me a second. I know some Draconic words. Just let me think…"

"You know what, I'm just gonna toss it!"

"What?!"

"I'm gonna throw Trezac the Primal Stone and he can use his magic to catch it!"

"That's a good plan!" Ezran agreed as the other two shook their heads.

"No, that's a terrible plan!"

"I'll just gently toss it."

"No, no! No throwing, no tossing!" Rayla protested.

"Tossing it!" Callum said throwing the ball. The crack of lightning echoed through the air and Callum sat up looking relieved. "It worked! I'm ok!" With a grin he turned to Trezac and Rayla, both of whom had their hair standing on end as they both grabbed the stone.

"You're kinda making a sizzling sound," Ezran commented as the fox sniffed Trezac's leg.

"Sorry about that," Callum apologized as he stood up. "I guess I'm just so excited to learn magic and I got carried away."

Rayla smoothed down her hair, handing the stone back to Callum, "Enough almost killing me. The sooner we return this egg, the sooner—maybe—this war will end. It's time to hit the road."

"Road? Why wear ourselves out on a road when we have a boat?"

Trezac raised a brow as he felt a spike of fear from the elven girl. "Nope! Say goodbye to the boat. We go by land from here."

"The river will be much faster," Trezac stated. "This is no time to let fear get in the way of our objective."

Rayla scoffed, "Fear? Of what?"

Trezac pointed to the boat. "That."

"So wait, are you this back-flippin', tree-climbin', sword-slashing elven warrior who's scared of a little splish-splashin'?" Callum inquired wearing a teasing grin.

"That's cute!" Ezran cooed.

Rayla's face turned red and she stomped towards the river, "Fine! We'll take the stupid boat!"

-.-

"How could you let it come to this?!" Amaya demanded.

"You speak as if I invited these assassins."

The general glared and began signing again, "I had to leave our stronghold at the Breach. Do you have any idea of the dangerous forces gathered at our border?"

"I did everything in my power to protect King Harrow! I was willing to give my own life."

"Then what went wrong?"

"He did!" Viren snapped, motioning towards the empty throne. "His own stubborn ways stopped me from helping him! You know him as well as I do. His pride was more important to him than his life!"

Amaya's face darkened, "You wanted this outcome."

"How dare you suggest—"

"His death creates opportunity for you!"

"His death breaks my heart."

"Then honor him. Find his children."

"They're gone Amaya. Kidnapped by a rogue mage and a Moonshadow Elf. If they aren't already dead, they will be soon."

Amaya's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean rogue mage?"

"Trezac! These people say he's a traitor!" he motioned to the Eleventh Sister.

"Is that my cue?" the woman smiled, standing straight from where she was leaning against a column. "Pleasure to meet you General. I am the Eleventh Sister," she bowed, "and I have come to this world in search of a traitor to the Empire. I'm sure he looks familiar," she held out the hologram of Trezac. "We believe he has some important…information that he took from us."

Amaya scowled, looking over the woman warily. "Why should I believe you?"

The woman looked wounded, placing a hand to her chest, "What reason would I have to lie to you General? It's not like I know my way around this world. I wouldn't get far if I wasn't being honest. Surely if I were going to betray you, it'd be when you are without a king. Weak."

"She's right," Viren nodded. "This is a time of crisis. An empty throne is a beacon of weakness. An invitation to destroy us. We must defend Katolis and all the human kingdoms with whatever allies we can from whatever is coming. I can help us! From there!"

Amaya shook her head.

Viren sighed, stepping down, "You think I'm being an opportunist. But I couldn't be more selfless in my motivation. I am a servant of Katolis. I am a servant!"

"Those are awfully nice clothes for a humble servant."

"You don't believe me?" he asked and Amaya raised a brow. "Then take it. Go ahead, sit down. I'll support you as Queen Regent. I'll gather the High Council, and we'll send words to the other monarchs of the Pentarchy immediately."

"The throne stays empty until we find the boys."

Viren growled storming from the room, turning down the hall, he was surprised to find the Sister waiting for him. Looing behind him, then back at her, he remained confused, how did she…?

"That's for me to know," she smiled tapping his nose. "Anyways, I see we have a bit of a problem. Perhaps Brother is almost done so we can devise some…creative solutions."


	7. Dark Waters

Chapter 7

**A/N: hey y'all I'm back for the next chapter! Just Fyi, my spring semester starts on like Today so, my updates might be getting a little more infrequent from here. Just figured I'd warn y'all now. Now, I'm just the author, the OCs belong to ****_Gabeherdon308_**** and I don't own TDP.**

"Bait," Ezran scolded picked the little glow-toad up from where he was wagging his short tail in the river water, "you know you're not supposed to do that. No playing in the water."

Callum chuckled, turning to his new friends to give them an explanation, "Bait loves the water, though he should be afraid of it. You wanna know why he's named Bait?"

"Ugh, not really," Rayla granded, sitting up from where she'd been lying on the deck.

"Well, I'm gonna tell you anyway," Callum continued. "It's kind of a sick joke, I guess. Glow toads, they're apparently…delicious."

"Gross," Rayla winced while Trezac shrugged.

"I can see it."

"Deep-sea fishermen use them to catch giant fish, things like that," Callum elaborated, "That's why he's named Bait. Get it? That's my stepdad's sense of humor. But yeah, that's why we have to be extra careful about him not getting in the water."

"Guys!" Ezran hissed covering Bait's ears, "He doesn't no how delicious he is so shh!" The small animal turned colors as Ezran released his head. "Speaking of names, what about that little guy? What's his? He doesn't have a name yet."

"How about Blaze?" Callum offered.

"I personally like Ignis," Rayla grunted.

"Actually," Trezac interrupted, "I was thinking of naming him Agir."

"That's a cool name!" Ezran piped and smiled as the small fox licked the padawan's cheek. "And he likes it too!"

-.-

"So, the Princes, what can you tell us about them?" the Sister questioned lazily picking up a phoenix feather he had sitting on the desk.

"They're young, children," he scoffed.

Dark gold eyes flickered up to him and the woman smiled striding closer and lifting his chin teasingly, "Oh Viren, just because they're children doesn't make them a threat we can ignore. They are the ones standing between us and the power you need to march on Xadia. I doubt the other leaders will listen to a mere servant, but a King. That would be another story."

Dark grey eyes widened, "You want to…kill the princes?"

The sister chuckled, "We could even provide you weapons. The likes of which you've never seen to fight the elves," Viren smirked at her offer. However, the sister stepped back turning to the window, "But you see, we can't. Not until we're formally invited by a ruler or a world." Turning back to the mage, she gave him a soft smile, "Do you think the Princes would be willing?"

Viren looked her in the eye, "No."

"See," the brother spoke from where he leaned against the wall in the shadows of the room. "As you said, they're too weak to need what needs to be done. And with our support, I doubt anyone would challenge your claim."

"Me?"

"Why not?" she asked. "You've been the King's right hand for years, the High Mage of Katolis, father of the youngest Captain of the Guard the kingdom's seen. Surely you'd know what would be best for your people?"

Viren nodded, "Of course, I'll go speak with General Amaya again. Try to see if I can make her see reason."

"Yes, do that," Eleventh Sister smiled as he walked out the office, closing the door behind him.

"Sister, remember what we're here for."

The woman scoffed, "Don't patronize me! I know very well. Besides, Lord Vader will be very interested in this 'magic' they speak of."

"Indeed."

"We'll reach our objective soon enough; _he_ is so easy to manipulate. Tell the Admiral, to get the troops ready, it shouldn't be long."

-.-

"You doing alright?" Callum asked as the three boys watched the elven girl hunch over in the boat.

"I'm doing great," she replied before doubling over as she continued to gag. "I just love boats, so much. That's why I'm down here," she gagged again, "to be close to the boat."

"Remind me to never taking to space," Trezac noted ignoring Rayla's glare at the comment.

Callum frowned before perking up as an idea came to him, "Tell you what, I'll ask you five questions."

"Please don't."

"Come on, it'll be a fun distraction, help take your mind off things," Callum pressed.

Rayla sighed, "Five questions. That's all you get."

A grin split the step-prince's face. "Great! Question One: We always heard these crazy things about Xadia. Like it was this place with just magic everywhere. Is that really what it's like?"

"Yes. Next question."

"It must be so weird that everywhere you look there's magic."

Rayla raised a brow a him, "It's not weird. In Xadia magic's in pretty much everything. It's no different than saying everywhere you look there's nature. It's just part of the vibrance or the spirit of things, you know?"

"I can't wait to see that, it sounds incredible."

"Yeah, it is."

"Sounds like my home," Trezac commented, a small amount of mourning in his voice.

"Really?" Rayla questioned looking to the human. He was a strange one. He knew magic that wasn't dark; didn't use spells or runes either. And now it sounded like he came from a place a lot like Xadia. But…how was that possible? _All_ the humans had been driven out over a century ago.

"See, it's working, right?" Callum interrupted, sitting beside her with a goofy grin. "Feeling a little better?"

"Maybe so," she replied sitting up. "Ask your next question."

"Ok, question two: What are your parents like?"

Good feelings gone.

Rayla scowled, turning away, "They're dead."

"Oh," Callum whispered looking down in shame, "I'm sorry Rayla. I didn't mean too…"

"It's fine. No more questions."

In understanding, Callum leaned back in his seat, trying to think of something else to distract Rayla. "So, Trezac, what kind of magic do you use?"

The padawan groaned loudly, throwing his head back in frustration. "For the last time! _IT'S NOT MAGIC!_"

"Then what is it?" Rayla spoke up.

Trezac sighed, leaning back against the railing; finally a chance to explain. "What I use is called the Force. It's kind of a cosmic…energy that binds and connects all living things together. Some are more sensitive to it than others, and I'm one of those people. As kids we're taken to the Jedi Temple, where we learn how to control our abilities; use them to help keep the peace," he explained rubbing his thumb on his knuckles, "We…can do things, see things, sometimes hear and sense things others can't. It's—it's hard to explain. But it isn't your magic. Trust me."

"You sure?" Rayla questioned turning back to the conversation. "Seems a lot like magic to me."

The pale boy frowned, running a hand through his hair. "Who knows, it might be related. I mean, there's multiple ways to use the Force. I mean, the Sith can throw lightning with their hands."

"What's a Sith?" Ezran asked.

"That'll have to wait," Callum interrupted the conversation before looking to Rayla. "So, this may be a bad time to bring this up, but are you sure you aren't scared of the water?"

"I'm done with questions!"

"I know, it's just—look!" he exclaimed forcing all heads to turn to the river in front of them.

All eyes went wide. Before them, the once smooth river began to descend down a slope, picking up speed, creating whitewater rapids ahead of them.

"PULL THE BOAT OVER!" Rayla screamed flattening herself to the deck.

"I don't think there's time."

"PULL IT OVER. I ADMIT IT! I HATE THE WATER! I'M AFRAID OF IT, IT MAKES ME SICK! ALL THE BAD FEELINGS!"

"IT'S TOO LATE, HANG ON!" Callum called out in warning.

Four screams filled their air as they went over the first waterfall.

-.-

"So how'd it go?" a singsong voice trilled as he entered his office.

With a sigh, Viren turned to see the Sister lying on his desk, her feet kicking back and forth as she rested her chin on her pal. "It went well. Amaya has agreed to return to the breach."

"But…?" the brother spoke from behind him, making the High Mage jump.

With a gulp, he straightened his shoulders and looked him in the eye. "She's insisting on sending a rescue for the princes. She's ordered that her Commander be placed in charge."

"Well, well," Sister tsked, "that just won't do now will it? Not if we want our plans to succeed." She tapped her chin in thought before perking up and hopping off the table, "I know! What if we let her _think_ she was in charge?"

-.-

The boat slowed down as the rapids ended with one final waterfall. Causing five soaked forms to shakily pop up from where they'd been sprawled on the deck.

"You faced your fear. Do you feel better about water now?" Callum asked.

Rayla leaned over the side, shaking like a leaf, "I've never felt worse about water."

"Yeah," Trezac murmured, "I think I finally understand what my Master meant about Sky-Guy's flying."

"Well, anyway, we're making great time," Callum reassured.

"Awesome."

"Hey guys?" Ezran spoke up, "Has anyone seen Bait?"

Everyone froze before they started scrounging under their seats trying to find the small glow-toad. From the falls, they heard a distressed whine and all heads turned as they saw a green bait coming down the falls.

Eyes widening, Trezac threw out his hand, using the Force to catch the falling frog. Bait gave a startled yelp as he was stopped mid-air, his small legs flailing as he floated over the water and onto the boat where he landed safely in Ezran's arms.

"THANK GOODNESS YOU'RE SAFE!" Ezran said hugging his pet closer.

Rayla sighed, lying back now that the crisis was over. "What a disaster."

"I know right?!" Callum exclaimed nearly hitting Trezac with the oar as he turned to face Rayla. "My socks are all soggy! A disaster! A soggy disaster!"

"I'd call that more of an inconvenience," Trezac muttered.

From where she sat, Rayla jumped as she saw the glow-toy on the floor, one of the symbols glowing brightly. "Um, Callum?"

The novice mage picked up the cube, looking at the glowing rune, "Hey. It's the ocean rune. I haven't seen this one light up before."

Trezac raised a hand slowly, "Am I the only one wondering _why_ it's lighting up?"

Everyone screamed as they were suddenly flying through the air. With a Force Push, Trezac kept himself from slamming head-first into a rock as he and Rayla made impact on the shore. Behind them, there were three splashes as Callum, Ezran, Bait, and Agir landed in the water.

Springing off the rock, he pulled out his lightsabers as he rolled to his feet, taking in the situation.

Some strange, green aquatic beast roared as it dove back under the water, causing Bait to give a loud cry. "Rayla, get the others to shore! I'll distract it!" Trezac sprinted towards the water putting his weapons away, diving in and swimming out past the boys. Bait gave a loud yelp as the animal's tail hit him, sending the poor little animal flying through the air. "CATCH!" he called changing Bait's direction and sending him flying to the shore where he slammed into Rayla, knocking her to the ground.

A shadow came up from under him, causing Trezac to give a startled cry as a massive tail knocked him up into the air, sending the padawan slamming on the back of the strange fish. Looking up, the boy paled, it was going after Callum, Ezran, and Agir; all three of whom were still trying to get to shore.

Pulling out a sword, a bright yellow blade burst to life. He swung it down, carving a deep cut into the beast's side, making it release a loud cry as it turned away from the pain. The response created a wave that sent the remaining three to shore.

Good, now he just needed to get off and they were Scott free. The padawam raced down the creature's body as it turned away from shore. With a final leap, he flew off, landing in the shallows panting and putting the saber away. "I think…I'm with Rayla…on avoiding…the water."

-.-

"Don't you think one of us should go with them Sister?"

The Eleventh Sister rolled her eyes, looking down on the group below, watching as Viren tricked Amaya and lured Gren into a trap just as she told him to. It was so fun to have a puppet on strings. "And ruin the fun? Why?" she drawled. "We both know his children won't have it in them. They'll bring the children back. Won't it be fun to kill them all ourselves before conquering this worthless rock?"


	8. Smoke & Mirrors

Chapter 8

**A/N: Hey y'all! Welcome to the next chapter. Once again, this story idea's owned by ****_Gabeherdon308_**** and so are the OCs. I'm just the writer. I don't own TDP or Star Wars.**

_"Trezac…"_

_"…Trezac…"_

_"…Trezac!"_

Startled from sleep, the padawan shot up, looking around him in confusion. Callum, Bait, Agir, and Ezran were still asleep, and Rayla was on watch last he checked. Looking towards the skies, brows furrowed as he saw the first rays of sunlight starting to peek from over the trees.

Ok, so, it wasn't time to go yet. Glancing towards the elf, he gave a quiet groan. She must've dozed off at somepoint.

So…who did he hear?

A twig snapped in the distance and the Jedi hopped to his feet just as Rayla did the same, apparently only to be feigning sleep. "You heard that right?" he whispered.

"Yeah," she nodded, grabbing one of her swords. "Wake the others, I'll go check it out."

As she ran off into the woods, Trezac hopped onto the gnarled tree roots the boys crawled under and reached down shaking Ezran's head gently by his bushy hair. From below, there was a slight groan and darker green eyes met his own, blinking up at him blearily. "Trezac?" he yawned. "What time is it?"

"Doesn't matter, wake up Callum."

Even though the boy was only half-awake, he heard the urgency in the padawan's voice. Blinking a few more times, he looked around, eyes going wide as he failed to find Rayla. The younger prince turned around, shaking his brother. "Callum. I think we're alone."

"Finally," Callum replied hugging on of the baguettes, "oh, I've been waiting for this moment."

The two conscious boys looked at each other then back at the slumbering teen, "Callum?"

"Mmm. Your breath still smells like peanut butter," Callum groaned and Trezac facepalmed.

"CALLUM!"

"Wha—What?"

"Wake up, Rayla's missing," Ezran informed.

Callum immediately shot up, nearly hitting his head on a low root. "Did she take it?"

"No she didn't," Trezac stated hopping down and helping the pair out. "She's checking out something right now."

"Ok, good. But that doesn't mean we can trust her."

"I'd pick her any day over a Sith like Viren," Trezac hissed grabbing their supplies.

"I'm with Trezac, I like her."

"I know, but it just she's…"

"An elf?!" Ezran exploded. "It seems maybe everything we've ever heard about elves is wrong!"

"No, no, no!" Callum exclaimed waving his hands and shaking his head. "That's not what I meant. It's just…she's not telling us everything. I can feel it."

Something heavy settled in Trezac's gut in that moment. He new the princes were both Force sensitive in their own right—how much he wasn't sure. But if Callum could tell something was off; as much as he didn't want to admit it, Callum may've had a point. For the past few days he'd sensed something…off about Rayla. He didn't know what, but whatever it was, it was slowly getting worse. Like…like if something had been eating her from the inside out.

He glanced in the assassin went warily. Was it…was it possible she led them into a trap?

At that moment, Rayla leapt out from the trees, sprinting towards them. "Go! Go! Go!" she called racing over and picking up her supplies.

"Where were you?" Callum demanded.

"That doesn't matter we need to go!"

"We should eat first," Ezran said, "Look at how grumpy Bait is."

The elf groaned loudly. "There's no time!" she exclaimed.

"What was it?" Trezac questioned crossing his arms.

"Yeah you should at least explain—"

"I DON'T HAVE TO EXPLAIN ANYTHING TO YOU!" she snarled picking up the elder brother's bag and shoving it into Callum's arms. "Let's go!"

-.-

The Eleventh Sister raised a brow as she heard grunting coming from the stairs as she sat a few yards away from the High Mage of Katolis. Her gaze flickered away from her most recent source of entertainment and landed on the Captain of the Guard as he began doing lunges towards them.

"I love having meetings up here," Soren spoke moving into squats. "I get a nice leg work out going up all those stairs."

"We have more important things to discuss, boy," Sister spoke. "Do pay attention."

Brows furrowing, he stood up straight looking at the strange woman before him. "Uh…who are you?"

"Soren, meet the Eleventh Sister," Viren introduced. "She and her brother are powerful mages sent to help us in our time of need."

Putting on a smile, she elegantly slid down from where she'd perched herself on the castle walls. "So, you're the heroic Captain of the Guard I've heard _so_ much about," she admired. "I have to say, the stories really don't do you justice. It's not every day you become the youngest Captain of the Guard in the history of Katolis."

The young man before her merely blushed, chuckling likely. "Y-yeah. You're not wrong…Eleventh Sister, was it?"

"You can call me Eleven."

"You have my undivided attention."

"This evening," Viren began, "you and your sister depart on a mission…"

"Searching for the princes," the knight grunted as he began to stretch.

"The outcome of your mission is critical to the future of this kingdom," Viren continued.

The young man chuckled lightly, "We've got this. We'll find them."

"Of that we have no doubt," the inquisitor smiled, "but…there might be a slight…problem."

Soren stopped stretching at that, standing up straight to look at the two figures before him. "The elf? She'll be easy."

"There's a bit more nuance to the situation than you understand, Soren," Viren scolded.

"No idea what that means."

The High Mage sighed stepping forwards and putting a hand on his son's shoulder, "Listen closely. You are to return with the terrible news that the princes have perished."

"Wait…what?"

The Eleventh Sister chuckled lightly, slinging an arm over his shoulder, "You heard him. The princes aren't coming back alive."

-.-

"Wait," Rayla spoke up as the small group strode along a mountain path, "this path is too easy."

"No it's not," Callum argued. "It's exactly the right amount of easy."

The elvish girl rolled her eyes, "No. it's well worn, it's flat, it's soft. Sooner or later we're going to run into somebody."

"You can barrow me cloak if it's that much of a problem for you," Trezac grumbled.

"Still too risky," she said moving to another overgrown path and pointing up, "We need to go that was. Tougher terrain is safer for us. The tougher the better."

"Well that sounds terrible," Callum muttered.

"Exactly!"

Trezac facepalmed, this chick had to be related to Master Skywalker with how stubborn she was. He always had to make things more difficult. He had a distinct memory of him saying, _"That'd be too easy,"_ once when they were making battle plans.

"This is already tough enough," Ezran whined. "Do you know how heavy this egg is?"

"Uh no, I don't. Cause you wont trust me to carry it!"

"Well should we trust you?" Callum questioned. "Have you told us the truth about everything?"

Trezac couldn't help but notice the way she avoided answering as she scoffed, "Fine, keep carrying the extremely heavy egg. But quit crying about it. We're going this way."

Sighing, Trezac turned to Ezran, quickly putting his pack down, "I'll carry the egg for a little while. My bag's lighter."

-.-

"So…if we returned with the news that the princes have died…won't that mean we failed?" Soren questioned stepping back from Eleven and looking at his father in confusion. They couldn't be serious.

"The coming war will determine the fate of humanity," his father spoke, avoiding answering his question. "History has come to a crucial tipping point."

"So, you're saying things could go either way?"

"Exactly."

"Like a see-saw!"

Both mages looked unamused as they stared at him, "Yes, Soren. History is like a see-saw. If we are strong enough to make the right decisions, humans may finally return to Xadia and take back the great magical lands that are rightfully ours."

"But…" Eleven began tilting her head playfully to the knight's left, "if a child's in charge…well, I can't imagine that going too well."

"He'd make bad choices?" Soren determined raising a brow.

"He'll make _weak_ choices!" his father snarled. "History will tip the wrong way and the forces of Xadia will crush, not only Katolis, but all the human kingdoms!"

"Not to mention, the boys have been kidnapped by an _elf,_" Eleven reminded, "who know's what terrible things she's doing to brainwash them into betraying humanity. After all, they're only children. Would you want a puppet king on the throne?"

Soren bit his lip, she did have a point, "Ok…so, I'm supposed to come back with the news that they're dead?"

"Yes, what don't you understand?" she grumbled.

The blonde couldn't help but gulp, "What if…what if I find them alive?"

"Oh, you'll know the right thing to do. After all, _accidents_ happen all the time. _Tragic_ accidents. My son, this won't be easy, but you are strong."

Soren nodded, slowly backing away only to shiver as a sing-song voice called out to him, "And remember cutie, don't breathe a word about this to _anyone_. I'd _hate_ to see what'd happen if someone found out."

Seeing his son walk away, Viren sighed, turning to walk towards the other door, "It will be a burden for me to take the throne, and someday Soren will understand when he takes it over after me."

"Of course," the Eleventh Sister smiled as Viren strode away. Leaning up against the wall, she gazed out over the lands, "Though, it's not like he'll get the chance."

-.-

"All right," Rayla groaned stretching her arms above her head as the group trudged up the mountain. "Let's stop and eat. I'm starving!"

Setting his bags down, Trezac pulled out his cloak, fastening it over his shoulders and pulling his hood up. By the Ancients he hated the cold. "Here, I have a couple more ration bars," he said tossing the bars out between them.

"Great," Rayla winced taking the strange food again. To make it taste better, she reached into her knapsack to pull out moonberry juice, only to find herself glaring at an empty bottle. "Someone drank it all! _Who_ went through my stuff?!" she exclaimed holding up the evidence.

"Not me."

"I didn't touch your things!"

"Don't look at me!"

The girl glared at the three boys, "Well I didn't drink it. If none of you did it then who did?" The answer came as a hiccup from by her feet. All heads turned down to Bait, whom was glowing a different color as Agir sniffed him curiously. "Wait…did that little frog monster…?

"Bait wouldn't do that!" Ezran defended. "You have no reason to think—" Bait hiccupped again, "Don't accuse him!"

"Look at how he's glowing!"

"Well, Bait glows different ways depending on how he's feeling," Ezran explained. "Like he has one color if he's lonely, another when he's hungry, or angry, or hangry!"

"That's when you're so hungry, you're angry," Callum provided as Rayla glared at him.

"I know what hangry means," she grumbled as Trezac glanced aside nervously. Before now, he did not know what hangry meant. "So, what does that color mean?"

"Hmm, actually, I've _never_ seen him glow this way before," Ezran said crouching in front of his pet. "Kind of a reddish, purplish, berry color…" Bait belched and Ezran hung his head in defeat, "Yeah he did it."

-.-

Claudia gazed at a mirror brought back from Xadia with a frown, she turned away walking to the desk and grabbing several magic items. Picking up the bowl with her mixture, she walked back to the mirror. "Speak you true nature to me," she spoke starting to incant her spell. A green blast erupted from her fingertips, harmlessly swirling around the mirror before dissipating. "Nothing?"

"What's nothing?"

Yelping, Claudia turned around, freezing as her gaze landed on the Thirteenth Brother. "Oh…hi Thirteen," she greeted nervously as the imposing man loomed behind her.

Gold eyes looked over her, and the sorceress couldn't help but shiver. "What is it you're working on?"

"Uh…it's just this mirror that my father brought back from Xadia."

"Hmm…interesting," he mulled stepping past her to look over the mirror. "And what is the importance of this mirror?"

"We, uh, we aren't sure," she answered. "That spell I did was to try to get it to reveal its secrets. But, as you saw, it didn't work."

"Yes," the Thirteenth Brother mused, placing his hands behind his back. "But surely you must have something to make you think a mere mirror was important enough to cast spells upon?"

"Well, it was found in the liar of the Dragon King and Queen themselves," Claudia remembered. "So it has to be powerful. A dragon wouldn't even be able to see their reflection in a mirror this small."

"Hmm," Thirteen raised his right hand and waved it. Claudia's eyes widened as she felt a powerful push against the mirror, and she nearly saw a ripple in the magic before it went back to normal. "Yes…there is something powerful blocking our view. I am intrigued." He turned to her and Claudia jumped as his dark gold eyes landed on her again. "Tell me. What do we try next?"


	9. On Thin Ice

Chapter 9

**A/N: hey guys, back for the next chapter of our story. Once again, this story idea's owned by ****_Gabeherdon308_**** and so are the OCs. I'm just the writer. I don't own TDP or Star Wars.**

"Seriously?" Claudia exclaimed. "This is one stubborn magic mirror."

"You think I haven't tried that?" Viren spoke up, causing his daughter and the male inquisitor to turn to him. "I've cast over eight different reveal spells, they all failed. At the end, I see nothing but my own frustrated face staring back at me."

"Maybe it really is just a mirror," Claudia shrugged sharing a glance with the Brother who rolled his eyes.

"Of all the treasures, artifacts, and relics in the lair of the Dragon King and Queen. This was the closest to their bed. It must be important."

"In all likelihood," the male inquisitor spoke. "I can feel something…powerful coming from it. Though my own abilities are prevented from seeing what is hidden here. Perhaps my sister…"

"I doubt it," Viren grumbled glaring at the mirror again.

Gold eyes narrowed and Claudia shivered as she felt something…_dangerous_. "Perhaps if Sister and I could contact our people, see if they know anything?"

"That would be so helpful!" Claudia said before her father could reply. "Hear that mirror? We're putting you on notice."

With a scowl, Viren tossed the tarp back over the infernal relic, before turning to his daughter. "We have something to discuss, your mission."

"To rescue the princes."

"Yes, but you will have a secret mission that's far more important," Viren spoke. "Claudia," he placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder, "you must recover the dragon egg."

"They have it with them, so it shouldn't be a problem," she shrugged.

"But the elf will be."

"I can handle her. I've got room for a third mission if you need anything else while we're out," she chuckled.

"The egg can't fall into the wrong hands. It's too powerful, too dangerous," Viren reminded. "Whatever happens, whatever accidents or tragedies may occur, above all else, you must return with that egg."

"Good."

"One question," she prodded, "Say we're attacked by giant bumble-scorps and they're all buzzing around like bzzzz and flailing their scorps at us like bzz bzz bzz bzz and I'm forced to choose between saving the egg and saving Soren. What should I do?"

"It seems to me that your brother can handle himself just fine. I recommend getting the wea—the egg."

"True, but what if he really needs my help?" Claudia reiterated. Seeing her father frown, she rolled her eyes, "Geez, tough crowd. It's a joke. Relax, it'll be fine."

"The egg," Viren answered as his daughter began to walk away. "If you have to choose, choose the egg."

Claudia frowned slightly, looking down as she left the room, and with it, she failed to see the wide grin forming on the face of the inquisitor hiding in the shadows.

-.-

"Rayla, can you slow down? It's getting a little tricky," Ezran requested as he trudged through the snow that rose up to his knees.

"Rayla, come on!" Callum whined as he helped pull his little brother up. You're the one who made us take this crazy route, at least let us keep up with you."

"I just need to sit down, catch my breath," Ezran panted flopping down in the snow.

"You know there is a solution," Rayla grumbled hopping up onto a ledge, "you can let me carry the egg. You realize I could just take it right? I could just take it from you any time I wanted."

"If you got past Trezac," Callum muttered jumping up next to her with a warning glare. "And besides, threatening us, isn't the best way to encourage us to trust you."

"But I don't! That's the point!"

"Oh, congratulations! You haven't threatened us and forced us to give you the egg?! You deserve a medal! You're a hero!" Callum snapped.

"I could take it! I could return it to Xadoa on my own! And as a matter a fact—" Rayla was cut off as a palm slapped over her mouth. Glaring at the cause, she found Trezac covering her and Callum's mouths, watching the slopes with wary eyes.

It was only then she could hear the slight cracking in the packed snow and ice up above.

Seeing the trails of cracks slowly grind to a stop, Trezac looked away from the cliffs to glare at the two arguing idiots. "Save your arguing for when we're off the mountain. The last thing we need is an avalanche," he warned slowly removing his hands, "Got it?"

"Yep."

"Not a peep."

Looking back up at the ledge, Trezac hopped down, pulling Ezran to his feet. "We need to get moving," he whispered, "this area's unstable. It's not going to take much else to cause the mountainside to give." Ezran nodded, picking up his pack and climbing up to join Rayla, Agir, and his brother. Trezac turned to grab Bait only to freeze in horror as the small creature belched, loudly.

For a moment all they could hear was Bait's burp echoing over the silent hills, and it was only when they faded to background noise they heard the cracking. "Karabast!" Trezac cursed.

"Run!" Callum exclaimed and the group whirled on their heels sprinting back down the mountain as a loud roar began to approach from above.

Ezran tripped on the way down, causing Rayla to skid to a stop and grab his hand to help the boy up, making her yelp as pain shot up her arm. "What happened to your hand?" Ezran gasped seeing the purple fingers.

"Don't worry about it! Just run!" she exclaimed leading him down the trail. Glancing behind her every now and then. "We're not going to make it! It's like a snownami!"

Callum slid to a stop, turning to face the white torrent. "Callum, what're you doing?!" Trezac exclaimed.

"Get behind me!" he said and everyone clustered behind him. Getting the idea, Trezac stood to his left and thrust out a hand as Callum drew is rune. "Aspiro!"

Together, the padawan and mage held back the avalanche. At least until Callum ran out of breath. Without the support, Trezac felt the snow get past his own blocks as it crashed into them sending the group spiraling down the mountain. Fortunately, it was slow enough that they weren't buried or anything super bad.

"Who's not dead?! Sound off!" Callum called popping out of the snow.

"Yeah," Trezac groaned from where he was sprawled by the edge of the frozen lake as Agir licked the snow caught on his cloak.

"WHERE'S THAT HICCUPING JUICE-THEIF FROG?!" Rayla exclaimed jumping to her feet.

"He's right there!" Ezran pointed up the slope. "And he's ok! We all made it!"

"Remind me to not let Master Skywalker fly the ship again," Trezac muttered stumbling to his feet holding his head.

"I'll go get the egg!" Ezran called, and all heads turned towards the boy as he slowly got to his feet, scooching towards the egg and picking it up.

Everyone's hearts dropped to their stomachs when they heard the distinct sound of ice cracking. "Ez, don't move, we're coming to get you," Callum called as the three slowly slid out onto the ice.

"Ez, you need to lie down and distribute your weight, it'll help keep the ice from breaking," Trezac called.

"But it's already cracking!"

"Here," Callum said crouching down and crawling over. "Hand it to me," taking the egg from his brother, Callum stood up and Trezac smacked his forehead as the ice began to crack again.

"What now?" Rayla asked.

"You handle Callum, I'll get Ezran," Trezac said sliding away. "Ez, how's the ice?"

"Uh…still cracking whenever I move," the boy whimpered.

"Ok," Trezac nodded. Slowly rising to his feet, he held out his hands. "Ezran, I'm going to have to force throw you. It'll get you off the ice."

"Just do it!"

Shoving his hands forwards, Trezac used the force to blast Ezran across the icy lake and into a snowdrift. Of course, naturally every action has an equal but opposite reaction; meaning TRezac ended up slading almost halfway across the lake. Sitting up the Jedi looked nervously towards where the boy was, sighing in relief as he popped out of the snow.

"I'm sorry I was such a jerk before Rayla, we're lucky to have you as a friend," Callum said holding the egg out to the elven girl. "I do trust you."

To their surprise, she took a few steps back, "No. Wait. I don't deserve your trust. Not yet. I need to tell you the truth. This morning, the big rush is cause I was attacked by someone, a human. I fought him off but it was hard, because of this," she held up her hand showing the darkening skin and the silver bracelet.

"You don't need to do this right now Rayla," Callum spoke up.

"Yes I do"

"This isn't exactly a good time right now!"

"This is an assassin's binding; a Moonshadow Elf ritual. Before I met you, I swore an oath, I bound myself…to end Prince Ezran's life. And this binding will never come off while he's alive. It'll just get tighter and tighter till I lose my hand! But I'm ready to pay that price."

Well that explained a lot. But for some reason Trezac felt guilt still coming off of her.

"Thank you, for telling us," Callum nodded, "but we need to focus on the situation."

"There's one more thing. The night I met you, something bad happened…"

"Rayla, there's no time!"

"Callum I need to tell you. The King—"

"JUST TAKE IT!" Callum exclaimed shoving the egg into her hands. Only to forget about her injured one.

Rayla gave a sharp cry of pain, the egg slipping from her hands and falling to the ice, breaking through and sinking down into the cold waters below.

"No!" Trezac exclaimed jumping in after it.

"TREZAC!" they all exclaimed crowding the edge of the broken ice.

"I'm going in after him," Callum said only to be stopped as Rayla grabbed his arm.

"He'll get it. We need to be up here to pull him out!" she argued.

Under the water, Trezac swam down towards the sinking light ahead of him. Pulling with the Force, he dragged the egg back up to him, grabbing it before turning around to swim back to the surface. His muscles screamed in pain at the shock of the freezing waters, and his lungs were starting to burn, but he couldn't afford to drown right now.

His free fist pounded into ice above him and a few precious bubbles of air escaped his lips as he tried to find the hole he initially leapt through to get the egg. Unfortunately, everything looked the same down here.

Reaching to his belt, the padawan pulled a saber off his belt and activated it. The yellow blade burst to life, and he stabbed it up through the ice. The heat from his saber melted the ice it cut through, allowing two sets of hands to pull the slab of ice off as Trezac popped up, gasping for air. Holding the egg up, someone, probably Callum or Ezran, took the egg out of his hands as he grabbed Rayla's while stabbing his saber into the ice again, pulling himself up into a shivering heap.

"T-the e-eg-gg," Trezac stuttered, "h-ow-w i-is i-it?"

"Not good, something's wrong!" Ezran said holding a a dark egg with a barely noticeable glow.


	10. Human or Monster

Chapter 10

**A/N: hey y'all! Back for another chapter I see? Anyways, y'all know the drill at this point. I don't own TDP or Star Wars, the OCs of this story belong to ****_Gabeherndon308_****, and I think that about covers it. Now, on with the story!**

"Ez, you should really try to sleep," Callum encouraged as he glanced at his younger brother. Blue eyes looked his way and the boy sat up, his cloak falling open.

"I—I," he sneezed, wiping his nose, "I'm fine."

"You aren't fine, you need rest."

The younger boy gave him a glare, "Trezac's the one who fell in the water."

"And look at him," Callum said motioning to the padawan curled up under his cloak by the fire, "he's _resting_."

Rather the continuing to argue, Ezran got up, walking over and sitting beside his brother. "What are you…oh," he trailed off seeing the drawing on the pages of the book.

"When you were on the ice, I was so scared. I thought I was going to lose you like we lost her," Callum confessed looking over the drawing of his mother. "But you made it. And now I can't stop thinking, that maybe she was watching over us. If she knew what we were trying to do, she'd be proud. And," a smirk came to the elder prince's face, "she would yell at you to sit closer to the fire and bundle up!"

"I know," the boy whined trudging over and plopping down beside Bait, careful not to wake Trezac or Agir.

"She's beautiful," a new voice spoke and Callum glanced up to see Rayla had returned. "She's your mother?"

"Yeah."

Hearing the tone of his voice, Rayla glanced away trying to find a new road of conversation. "Uh, I found some moonberries," she said, changing the subject. "These should keep us full for a day, this way we don't need to keep wasting Trezac's…ration bars?" More like she didn't want to keep eating the bland things but they didn't need to know that. "And, I found these for you and Trezac," she reached into her pocket and pulled out green berries, "Bogeyberries! Ancient Xadian cure for the common sniffles." She handed Ezran two and the boy opened his mouth to eat them. "Nope, they don't go in your mouth."

"Uh…"

She rolled her eyes, "To cure a stuffy nose, you've gotta stuff 'em up your nose."

"Oh, seems doable."

Glancing behind the brothers, her gaze flickered between the egg and the stupid human that saved it. "How's the egg doin'?"

They all looked towards the egg, whose glow was darker than it'd been before, "I don't think the egg's getting better; it was glowing so brightly before, but now it's dim and flickery."

"It's even dark than when I left," Rayla sighed. "And Trezac?"

"Not sure," Callum answered honestly. "He's been out for a while. But he's not coughing anymore, so I think he's getting better."

"At least there's some good news," Rayla sighed sitting by the fire.

"We need to find help," Ezran spoke.

-.-

"There it is, a town!" Rayla exclaimed in relief as the group trudged over another hill. "I knew I saw smoke. Maybe we can find help."

"Ok, sure. We might find a dragon egg expert, but we will definitely find a bunch of elf-hating humans," Callum reminded.

"No problem," Rayla smirked. Reaching into Ezran's bag, she pulled out his cloak and put it on, covering her horns and pointed ears. "Meet human Rayla!"

"I'm not sure that's gonna cut it," Callum muttered.

The elvish assassin scoffed, "Just wait. Once I pair my disguise with my perfect human impression, the illusion will be complete."

"Really?"

"Greeting, fellow humans! Human fellows! I sure do like hanging out with other humans," Rayla began elbowing Callum playfully, "and talking about things like money and starting wars."

Trezac sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "I know I'm new to Xadia, but where I come from. No one would buy that."

"What makes you so sure?" Rayla challenged and the tired padawan raised a brow at her.

"I was an apprentice to one of the most successful undercover-operatives of the jedi, he was a master of manipulation. Trust me, that act is clearly screaming _I don't belong here_," he deadpanned. "Not to mention," he raised his hand wiggling his fingers.

Rayla looked down at her hand and nearly facepalmed. Wasn't like she could suddenly make a fifth finger appear out of thin air. "I need some kind of a…hand disguise."

"You mean gloves?"

"Look! Snow Elf!" she exclaimed racing towards a pile of snow with a carrot nose, button eyes and sticks for arms.

"I'm pretty sure that's a snowman," Ezran corrected.

"As long as it's not any of the creatures from Hoth," Trezac grumbled following them.

Rayla removed the gloves that were hanging from the end of the sticks, putting them on with a grin, "Hand-disguise!" she said only to frown as the pinky fell.

"Here," Callum said breaking off small pieces of the branches and taking the gloves. He shoved the small wood pieces into the last finger and handed them back to Rayla. "Now try it." She raised her hand and while the finger looked solid, it still flopped around. "Just don't shake hands with anyone."

"Just walkin' into town without a care in the world despite my sub-century life expectancy," Rayla smiled, trying to act human.

In response, Callum shushed her, Trezac groaned tossing his own cloak hood up, and Ezran just smiled at her, "That's the spirit."

Walking into the main square, they stopped seeing a large crowd surrounding a redheaded man standing on the edge of a fountain. "I defended the border against all manners of horrors and monstrosities. Things you can't even imagine. There's nothing I fear now!"

Callum grabbed their arms, and drug them further into the crowd to get a better view.

"In fact," the man continued, "I wager I could defeat any challenger here, with nothing but my dagger!" The crowd gasped and the man stepped off the fountain looking over the surrounding people before pointing to a random citizen. "What about you?"

The man smirked, ready to walk forwards and face the challenge, only to have his wife yank him back and drag him off.

"Maybe…you," he turned pointing right at Rayla.

With a scowl, Trezac moved to grab his own sabers when the crowd began cheering as someone stomped into the impromptu arena. The size of the man made the padawan blink as he shared confused glances with his comrades, since when could humans get that big?

The giant chuckled, yanking a massive sword off his back, "This isn't even my biggest sword."

"I'll take that bet!"

"My money on the big guy!"

"Mine too!"

Trezac massaged his temples in annoyance, why was he getting a distinct reminder of Hondo and his gang from this spectacle? Something in the force rippled gently, and the padawan perked to attention, looking around for what caused the disturbance. Something was wrong.

"They're distracted, we should go," Callum said.

Trezac wasn't going to argue. They needed to leave.

"Wait," Rayla—of all people—protested grabbing their arms. "You'll wanna see this."

The giant swung his blade down, forcing the short ginger to dodge. Landing on his feet, the man pulled out a dagger, one that was glowing red hot like a lightsaber. Green eyes went wide, was that what he'd been sensing a minute ago?

As if to answer his question, the man sprinted forwards, slicing the tip off the sword like it was made of butter. Ducking under the next swing, the knife cleaved the sword in two one more, before braking it with one last strike as it was reduced to a short hunk of metal just above the hilt.

"Well, I certainly hope that wasn't your biggest sword," the knife-wielder taunted as the crowd laughed causing the man to run off sobbing. "Ha! Anyone else?"

"What was that?" Callum asked.

"A sunforged blade!" Rayla grinned.

"Wow, I can't believe I just saw a real sunforged blade!" Ezran exclaimed. "What's a sunforged blade?"

"In Xadia, Sunfire elves can make magic weapons that stay as hot as the moment they're forged for hundreds of years," Rayla began to explain. "See that?" she pointed as the man sheathed the dagger, "The sheath's inscribed with special runes to protect him from the heat. Otherwise, well…"

"His pants would be on fire?" the youngest prince offered.

"Yeah, his legs too," she chuckled.

"Reminds me of my lightsabers," Trezac murmured removing his hood.

"Lightsaber?" they asked and he tapped the two strange blades on his belt, the ones the burst to life and glowed.

"So that's what those're called," Rayla commented. She had to admit, the weapons did seem similar. But…there was just something, different about the padawan's weapons. They didn't behave life normal sunforged blades, they didn't even have sheaths or runs to protect him from the heat. And not to mention, what kind of blade just popped out when it was needed? It was strange. And it probably wasn't as hot as a sunforged blade either.

"Rayla," Callum spoke up, "if that blade can cut through a steel sword like butter…would you say it could cut through pretty much anything?"

"Not pretty much anything, it can cut through anything," she replied before her eyes widened as she caught what he was hinting at. "My wrist binding!"

"You have to go get that dagger."

"But what about the egg?"

"Ezran and I will find help for the egg, you and Trezac handle the knife. We'll meet here back at the statue."

"How will you guys even get the dagger?"

"Asking nicely," Rayla smirked whirling on her heel and sprinting towards the road the man walked down with Trezac on her heels.

"Rayla," Trezac spoke up grabbing her arm and slowing her down into a walk, "we can have to be careful. If anyone finds out…well, I don't think it'll go well."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" she growled.

"Just follow my lead," he replied cryptically, leading the way after the man tossing his own hood up.

Their target glanced behind him, spotting the two cloaked figures following, and Trezac could sense a spike of fear from the man. He broke into a sprint, forcing the two trained warriors to chase after him. Force-jumping onto a roof, they chased him over the rooftops till he cornered himself in an alley.

"I won that money fair and square," he growled holding up the dagger.

"We don't care about the money," Trezac said lowering his hood.

"Then what do you want from me?"

"We need to borrow you dagger," Rayla spoke up lowering part of her glove to show the binding, "to cut this."

"Oh, you just wanna borrow it?" he scoffed.

"Fine, the you hold it!" she interrupted. "Just cut this thing off me!"

"But it'll burn you."

"I don't care! Just please do it!" she pleaded.

The man nodded and stepped forwards, taking Rayla's hand. Looking at her for a moment, before turning his head down to focus on what he was doing. The tip of the bruning blade, slipped under the binding, but the only thing that caught fire, was Rayla's glove.

Yelping in pain, she yanked the glove off, shaking her burned hand.

The man gasped, "You're one of them!"

The girl's eyes went wide as Trezac facepalmed. "Who me? I'm just a simple human girl who likes human things," she tried.

"No! You're an elf!"

"Fine, I'm an elf!" she said lunging forwards and snatching the dagger from his hand. Seeing his shocked expression, she rolled her eyes, "Calm down, this'll only take a second."

Lowering the blade to the binding, Rayla grimaced at the initial sting. She bit her lip, praying it'd be enough to handle the pain to get the binding off, but unfortunately, her instincts got the better of her. Releasing another cry of pain, she dropped the dagger, looking in horror at the binding still firmly planted on her wrist. "No! Nothing can cut this stupid binding!"

"Just take the dagger," the man begged, "don't hurt me please."

Trezac rolled his eyes, using the force to summon the blade to his palm. "Here," he said handing it back to the rightful owner.

"You—You're human? But…she's an elf!" he exclaimed. Narrowing his eyes, Trezac yanked the man to his feet. "She isn't an elf," he said waving his hand in front of the man's face.

"She…isn't an elf."

"She's a normal human."

The man nodded slowly, sounding a little more convinced, "She's a normal human."

"Now, you're going to go…do something and forget about this," he continued.

"I'm going to do something and forget about this," he repeated slowly stumbling away like a zombie.

Rayla, meanwhile, stood there completely horrified. "Trezac…what…what did you do to him?"

Trezac glanced away, tossing the hood of his cloak over his head. "Doesn't matter. Let's go find the others."


	11. In Your Head

Chapter 11

**A/N: here we are for the next chapter! Remember, I don't own this story or franchise, I'm just the writer.**

"Did you find the knife guy? Did you get his knife?" Ezran asked as he and Callum raced over to the statue, not noticing that their two companions were sitting almost on opposite sides from each other.

Rayla sighed, raising her purple hand, "No, the sunforge blade didn't work. The good news is the binding will fall off naturally, when my hand does."

"Ah Rayla, I'm sorry," Callum apologized.

"It's find, now, after what happened back there," she tossed a glare at Trezac, "I need some good news. Tell me what happened with the egg?"

"Um…well, not—not yet. But maybe, so yes? In a way?" the elder brother sputtered.

"That's not exactly an answer," Trezac remarked.

"We learned about a miracle healer. Someone who might be able to help the egg," Ezran informed, "and maybe your hand too!"

Rayla perked up at that, "Really?"

"Why do I sense a but?" Trezac muttered crossing his arms.

Callum laughed sheepishly, "Y-yeah, the only downside is, she lives up there," he pointed up to the imposing mountain before them, "the Cursed Caldera."

"Please tell it's named that cause it was discovered by the great explorer Sir Phineas Cursed."

"Well actually cause it's infested with horrible monsters," Callum answered.

"Yeah, I know," she sighed standing up. "Who knows, maybe our resident Dark Mage could handle them."

"What?" Callum flinched, "I—I'm not—"

"Not you! Him!" she pointed at Trezac. "You still haven't explained to me what exactly you did to that man back there!"

"Whoa, wait, what happened?" Callum interjected.

"I'll tell ya what," this guy found out I'm an elf and Mr. Dark Magic waltzes over, waves his hand and the man's stumbling off like a zombie!" she accused.

"For the last time what I do isn't magic!" he growled. "It's the Force! And even if it was magic! I'd never use the Dark Side! Not after I lost _everything_ to it!"

"Maybe you're just saying that to trick us!"

"Ugh! What I did wasn't magic, it was a simple Force mind trick. We use on those of weak will to get out of tough situations, _like_ the one you were in!" he growled. "If it wasn't for me, you'd be getting chased by an angry mob. So you're welcome," pushing past Rayla, Trezac lead the way towards the mountain.

-.-

"I think we're safe," Callum said as they ducked behind a tree.

"Safe, sure," Rayla drawled removing her cloak and shoving it back in Ezran's bag to help warm the egg, and how are we supposed to find this miracle healer?"

Movement caught their attention and Rayla reached for her blade as a pair of glowing green eyes emerged from the underbrush, revealing a wolf and a young girl on its back. "Come with me. I'll help you find her," she smiled turning the hound. "This way!"

Bounding up the steep trail, the group scrambled after her till they ended up on a smooth path,, slowing down to a steady walk as the ascended the mountain. "So, uh, hi there," Rayla greeted waving at the girl with her good hand and glancing at the wolf, "who are you?"

"Me?" the girl turned. "I'm Ellis, and this is Ava," she patted her pet. "She's a wolf."

"Really, I thought bird," Rayla smirked before laughing as Ava licked her cheek.

"Oh, I should've introduced you guys," Callum facepalmed. "Ellis, this is Rayla and Trezac. We met Rayla when she…well, broke into our Castle trying to kill Ezran."

"But that doesn't matter now cause we're friends!" Ezran quickly added.

"And we met Trezac when he crash landed from the sky into our kingdom."

Ellis just merely smiled, "People meet in so many interesting ways!"

"So how do we find this healer?" Trezac questioned lowering his hood.

"Truth is, I never found her, she found us," Ellis answered. "We were hiding in a big, twisty hallow tree up near the rim."

"Then we need to get to that tree, even if it takes all night," Callum nodded.

"Wait," Rayla protested, "that's all we have to go on? A weird tree where this miracle healer showed up three years ago?"

"You have a better idea?"

"As a matter a fact…no. No I don't," she grumbled.

Ellis smiled again, leading Ava to the front of the group, "I can get us up. The healer will find us there and she'll save the egg!"

"And your hand too," Ezran added.

"Don't worry about my hand, the egg's all that matters now," Rayla reassured rubbing her wrist.

The climb up the mountain was hard, involving leaping over gaps in the narrow path and climbing up steep slopes. Coming onto the ridge, Ellis lead Ava forwards, admiring the sunset, "It's beautiful. It's like the sky's been painted with honey."

"Wow," Ezran breathed taking in the view.

Ellis laughed turning to them with a wide smile on her face, "Too bad that it also means the nightmare's about to begin."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh you know," she shrugged, "enormous monsters, indescribable terrors, stuff like that."

"Stuff like that," Callum chuckled dryly, "yeah."

"I've probably seen worse," Trezac shrugged.

"Considering what you do to people's heads, why am I not surprised," Rayla bit back.

"Just so you know, the higher we go, the worse it'll get."

"Sounds like a blast," the padawan sighed removing his cloak and shoving it into his bag.

"All right! Let's go!" Rayla sarcastically cheered before she was stopped by Callum.

"No wait, we need a plan," he said.

"How do you plan for indescribable terrors?" Ezran questioned. "I feel like you need to be able to describe them first."

"Um…horrifying! Blood-curdling. Creepy, but in a super extreme way that feels like it's lighting you soul on fire," Ellis offered with a smile

The remaining members of the group tossed concerned glances at each other. "Uh…I think that helps?"

"Wait!" Callum said, "Wait, wait wait!"

"We're waiting?"

"I've got it!" the elder prince jumped. "Flash! Woof! Whoosh! Slish-slash!"

"…Awesome!" Ellis said before turning to Rayla and whispering, "Um, is he ok?"

The elf chuckled, "I think he's finally cracked under the pressure."

"No that's the plan," he answered and Trezac smacked his forehead muttering about owing someone money for finding a worse planner than someone. "Ezran, you have the first job! You hold Bait in the ait so he can flash and blind whatever monster we face. Flash!"

"Wait…but them I'm not really doing anything. I'm just kind of holding up Bait."

"You're support, every team needs a great support," Callum answered. "Ellis, Ava, Agir, you're next. You'll run around in circles and bark to confuse the monster."

"I dunno, do you think you can run around and bark a lot Ava?" The wolf barked in reply. "She's ready!"

"Then me, I'll use my windbreath spell, Whoosh!"

Ellis gasped, "You're going to cast a spell?!"

"It's just a simple rune thing I picked up," Callum brushed off with a wave of his hand. "No big deal."

"Yeah, he's gonna blow on the monster, ruffle it's fur real good," Rayla teased.

"It's that or the half of the lightning spell I know," he retorted. "Or, we can have Trezac do his magic thing. Shove the monster back?"

"That's more a defense move, not attack," Trezac replied ignoring the wary glance Rayla gave him.

"See, anyways, that'll leave you and Rayla, the finishers," Callum continued. You two will take out the blinded, distracted, windblown monster with your blades! Slish-Slash!"

Rayla refrained from scowling at the prospect of having to work with Trezac. After what happened earlier, she didn't trust the human as far as she could throw him. But, she supposed it was better than having the chance to use his own strange magic against them. "My hand's in pretty bad shape," she said flexing her bad wrist, "I'll only be able ti use one blade."

"Ok, then you're slash and Trezac is slish-slash!"

"No, this is my slish hand," she smirked as Callum balked.

"Really?"

"No, not really ya dummy," she smirked before facepalming as she remembered something. "Wait, you may be a dummy, but you're no fool!"

"I'm pretty sure that's a contradiction," Trezac muttered crossing his arms as Rayla grabbed Callum.

"Am I supposed to feel flattered by this?"

"You said Claudia called you a fool when you interrupted her lightning spell," she recalled getting a nod from the boy, "but, I'll bet she was actually trying to say _fulminis_, the draconic word for lightning!"

Green eyes went wide as the elder brother picked up on what she was saying. "So if fulminis is the trigger word—"

"Then you know the spell for lightning!" Ezran interrupted.

Callum grinned, pulling out the primal stone. "Revised plan! Flash! Woof! Zap! Slish-Slash!"

"Wonderful," Trezac grumbled turning to walk away.

-.-

-.-

"So, who exactly is it that we're coming to visit down here?" the Eleventh Sister smiled trailing behind Viren with a skip in her step. "I'm guessing someone important with all that food, but why would they be in a dungeon?"

Viren sighed, opening the door and the woman, finally went quiet as she took in the elf. Stepping inside, Viren set his staff aside and knelt down in front of the prisoner. "If you don't eat, you'll die."

"I am already dead," the elf spat back.

"Not really; you don't look dead," Eleven spoke crouching beside him. "And you certainly don't _feel_ dead. Though, that hand…" she got up grabbing the elf's hand and twisting, causing the prisoner to give a sharp cry of pain. "Nope, you can still feel it…good."

Viren took a slow breath, finding himself slightly unnerved by the gleam in her eyes. "I went out of my way to acquire some rare Xadian fruits," he spoke again holding a few of the delectable morsels up, "How remarkable? So strange and exotic," he picked up a knife slicing the peel away from one, "and these Xadian oranges, no seeds. Incredible." Holding out a slice, he raised a brow as his prisoner scoffed at the food, turning away. "No?" he plopped the slice into his mouth. "I understand the whole honor in not eating thing, but at least drink something," he offered a cup, holding it out, "don't worry it's berry juice."

"Ugh," Eleven scoffed stomping forwards and pushing Viren aside, "you're being too kind Viren," she turned to look down on the prisoner, "and you, how rude, to decline such offers from your hosts. If we were back in my land you'd be punished for such a disgrace to your kind hosts. But, lucky for you, we need you alive."

The human reached out her hand and Runaan gasped as his throat suddenly felt constricted. He couldn't breathe. Why couldn't he breathe? Wide eyes turned to the mage, her gold eyes gleaming in malice as she was trying to choke the life out of him. She strode forwards, the pitcher flying up into her hand without even a spell passing her lips. A hand grabbed his hair roughly, yanking his head back and suddenly the pressure around his neck was gone. However, instead of a gasping breath of air he'd been expecting his mouth and throat burned as berry juice was dumped. Sputtering he coughed whatever got into his lungs out, wheezing as the woman tossed the pitcher aside looking bored.

"There, that wasn't so hard."

It was then the other mage took a step forwards, looking, dare he say, almost as disturbed as he was. "Um, well, we have a proposition for you. I just need you to look at an object and tell me what it does. After that, I'll unchain you and you can walk out of here."

The woman made another annoyed sound and Runaan couldn't help but flinch as she strolled back over, crouching in front of him with narrowed gold eyes. "You will cooperate with us," she spoke slowly, waving her hand. He gasped as he felt something dark brush against his own mind, trying to subject it to its will. He knew human magic was vile, but this…it was beyond evil. Narrowing her eyes at him, an almost insane smile came to her face, "You're a strong one, mind tricks won't work on you will they? You're gonna be such a fun toy till I break you."

"I told you, I am already dead," he ground out, trying to sound braver than he currently felt.

It didn't appear to work as he smile impossibly grew wider, "Ooh, is that _fear_ I sense?" she purred.

"I believe it's a Moonshadow Elf philosophy, accepting one is already dead so you don't fear it," Viren interrupted.

"So we need to find something he fears more!" she smiled bouncing to her feet. "This is gonna be so fun!"


	12. Dangerous Monsters

Chapter 12

**A/N: hey guys, back for the next chapter. Good to see y'all again, remember, I'm just the writer Gabeherdon98 owns the OCs.**

"Well it's dark," Callum remarked, "but I think the scariest thing I've seen so far is an angry cricket. And he's more like, mildly annoyed."

"Are you sure this is the Cursed Caldera?" Ezran asked. "Or did we accidently wander up Humdrum Hill?"

"Maybe we took a wrong turn and wound up Sleepy Slope," Rayla added with a chuckle.

"I bet we made that turn at the Boring Boulders," Trezac shrugged as the others chuckled.

"I'll have to check my map but I'm fairly certain I recognize the unmistakable topography of Mt. Monotonous!" Callum chimed in, receiving nothing in reply save for the annoyed cricket.

"Anyways," Ellis began, "it is a little odd that nothing bad has happened yet. I SEE A HUGE SCARY MONSTER!" They all jumped turning to face is as Ellis laughed, "But don't worry, it's dead."

"Then why did you say it like that?!" Callum grumbled.

"SAY IT LIKE WHAT?!"

"Ellis," Trezac spoke up, "just because we haven't run into anything yet, doesn't mean we won't if you keep yelling."

"Whoa, I've never seen anything like this," Ezran said looking over the dead beast. It kinda reminded the boy of a badger, but with the horns and hooves of a goat, the face of a crocodile, and the teeth of well…they were really big teeth.

"Reminds me of the beasts on Orto Plutonia," Trezac muttered approaching it running his fingers over the strange bite mark.

"Don't touch it!" Callum exclaimed as Trezac continued to ignore him.

The body felt warm, and it looked fresh. This thing couldn't have been killed that long ago. Pulling his hand back, the jedi frowned as he noticed the distinct lack of blood on his fingers. His fingers should've been coated, not barely holding and drops. "Something's drained all the blood." Looking at the bite again, Trezac couldn't help but slowly go pale as he took in its shape. "Uh…your planet wouldn't happen to have Rathars, would it?" he chuckled nervously.

"What's a Rathtar?"

A low growl came from behind the dead beast, and they all slowly looked up as a worm-like creature with four eyes loomed over them. "Thank the Force it's not a Rathtar!"

"But it is a huge scary monster!" Ellis reminded.

"Oh, right," Trezac said. As the beast began to slither towards them, the others fell back as Trezac used a Force throw to put more distance between them and it.

"The plan!" Callum called as he raced to join them. "Remember the plan!"

"Ok! Where's Bait?" the boy called turning to his pet. "BAIT! You're supposed to—AH!"

"Too soon!" Callum called as they all covered their eyes, partially blinded by the blinding light from the glow-toad.

"I can't see!"

"None of us can!"

Sensing something moving towards them Trezac threw out a force blast, wincing as he heard Rayla give a startled yelp as she and the monster were blasted back. "TREZAC! YOU JERK!"

"Ok! I shouldn't do the lightning if I can't see!"

"No lightning!"

"Ok! New plan: SCATTER!" Callum screamed.

"To distract the monster?!"

"NO JUST TO GET AWAY AND LIVE!" Callum answered sprinting pass with the creature on his heels. Ellis rode over on Ava, Agir running right beside them as Callum hopped on the wolf and they scrambled up the cliffside.

Running with Rayla and Ezran, they stopped at the base of a tree. "You can climb right?" Trezac asked.

Ezran nodded and Rayla quickly helped hoist the boy up before she pulled out her sword as the monster came slithering towards them. Pulling out his own blade, Trezac lunged forwards swiping the saber across the monster's snout.

It gave a shrill shriek, spinning away and slamming Trezac with its tail, knocking the padawan back into a tree. "TREZAC!"

The air was knocked out of his lungs as he slammed to the ground, and in an attempt to take a breath in response he ended up getting a lungful of dirt. Coughing, Trezac stumbled to his feet, his vision swimming as several images of the monsters slithered towards him, slowly morphing back into one. It gave a shrill cry as the three flaps forming the slug-creature's mouth opened up to reveal the mess of circular teeth inside, as it lunged at him Trezac rolled under it. Using another force push, the padawan panted as it once again slid back, giving him time to leap up into the nearest tree, high above its reach.

"TREZAC? ARE YOU OK?"

"Fine," he called back. Another set of coughs made him hunch over as his airways made an attempt to get whatever dirt got in out. Pulling back, the young jedi couldn't help but frown at the red spittle now on his hand.

"SO WHAT DO WE DO NOW? I THINK THAT THING'S DOWN THERE WAITING FOR US!" Rayla's voice echoed over the grove.

"WE DON'T EVEN HAVE THAT MUCH BLOOD!"

"I KNOW! WE'D BE A VERY UNSATISFYING SNACK!"

As if in reply, the monster gave a hiss in return and Trezac leaned against the tree trunk with a sigh, closing his eyes as his head began throbbing. Seems like they were going to be there for a little while.

"I'M SORRY MY PLAN WAS A MESS," Callum apologized.

"NAH! YOUR PLAN WAS FINE! OUR EXECUTION WAS A BIT OFF. IT CAME OUT MORE AS: ARGH! OOPS! HELP! RUN!" Rayla replied.

Callum sighed in defeat.

-.-

"Come on," Eleven teased as she crouched in front of the prisoner, "you've gotta tell me something eventually. It's getting boring, and I don't do boring."

"I am already dead," Runaan ground out again, his throat feeling raw from the hours he'd spent under the subjugation of this insane mage.

"Here we go again," she drawled sounding annoyed. Standing up, she walked over to his bad arm, taking a finger in hand. He grimaced as pain from his slowly dying nerve receptors shot through him, but he couldn't break, not now. What he hadn't expected was the absolute agony when she yanked his finger back with a sharp snap. A scream ripped its way out of the elf's throat, meanwhile Eleven could only stand there looking quite pleased with herself. "Oh! It's even more sensitive than earlier! This is gonna be so fun! So come on, scream for me." This time, she turned and roundhouse kicked his bound arm in a downward sweep and a sadistic smile. "Cause no one's coming to save you."

-.-

"Oh Viren, you're here," Eleven greeted with a wide smile as the High Mage of Katolis shoved the heavy mirror into the prisoner's cell.

"Yes…what are you doing down here Eleven?"

The inquisitor gave a giggle bouncing in place. "Just having fun with the prisoner," she replied hopping to the side to give Viren a full view of her handiwork, "no big deal. It's not I intend to break my new toy yet. There's so much I want to do to him!"

Viren swallowed as he took in the damage. How…how was the elf still alive? He didn't look alive, but the loud wheezes he gave said otherwise. Each of the prisoner's fingers on his bad hand had been twisted to impossible angles and he could see a clear break in the same arm. And that wasn't even the worst of it.

Licking his suddenly dry lips, he took a breath and stepped forwards, "In a moment, I will remove this cover and you will tell me what you know. Understood?" Viren didn't get a response but in the prisoner's state he wasn't exactly expecting one. Sighing, he knelt down in front of the elf. "I've brought something I hope you'll find motivating." Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a pouch letting the jingling of the metal inside draw the elf's attention.

"You're more foolish than I thought," Runaan ground out. "Don't you know only humans can be bribed?"

"Well, I have seen many other races get bribed, not just humans," Eleven spoke coyly twirling a lock of her hair. "Don't think too highly of yourself. I'd hate to have to teach you another lesson."

"Oh, this isn't a bribe," Viren said dumping the contents to the floor. "It's a threat. Go on take a closer look."

Runaan went pale when he saw what they actually were. "You're a monster!"

"Let me see!" Eleven squeaked sitting down and picking up the objects with barely contained glee. "Ooooh! Viren you _have_ to teach me how to do _this_!"

-.-

"It seems to be hanging in there," Rayla said kneeling beside Ezran as he cradled the egg, trying to keep it warm, "barely."

"I'm so sorry I messed up the plan," Ezran apologized hugging the egg a little tighter.

"You should cut yourself a break, everyone messes up sometimes," she reassured. "Or in my case, all the time."

"What're you talking about?"

"Trust me, if the plan hadn't gotten messed up when Bait flashed, I'm sure it would've flopped when it was my turn," she grumbled, "then Trezac would've had to 'save the day', again."

"Are you kidding? From what I can tell you're awesome at everything."

"Well it's true I am pretty awesome at everything," she smiled before glaring at the ground, "right up until the moment it really matters. That's when I just, poof—screw things up."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know, I hesitate, think too much and get confused about the right thing to do. and the next thing I know, I failed. Like when Trezac and I were getting the knife. We were doing so well till I messed up and revealed myself. If Trezac didn't step in with his weird magic trick we probably would've been chased down by an angry mob."

"Wait…are you jealous?" Erzan probed.

"Of Trezac?" she scoffed lying down, "no. It's not like he always saves the freakin' day."

"You save the day too."

"Yeah right," she grumbled. "He doesn't mess up. He wouldn't have hesitated where I did. You see, on the morning I came to your castle, my team and I were discovered by a human guard. It was my job to chase him down and stop him…But when I caught him…he looked up at me and was so afraid. And the I just…let him go."

"You felt for him," Ezran stated.

"He was a human! My enemy!"

"Yeah," Ezran said rolling onto his stomach much to Bait's chagrin, " but then you saw he was scared. And you knew he was a person, just like you."

"That shouldn't have mattered! I had a job to do!" she growled sitting up. "Do you realize that I'm an assassin who hasn't killed anyone?!"

"Uh, I think that's a good thing," Erzan replied, "and besides in your position, I bet Trezac would've done what you had too. You don't need to compare yourself to him." He sat up with a smile, "And thanks for failing you mission by the way, I like being alive."

"I'm glad your alive Ezran, knowing you is definitely worth losing a hand for."

"That's the weirdest, nicest thing anyone's ever said to me."

"Eh who knows, maybe this is my unlucky hand and when it falls off, my luck will change," she tried optimistically.

"That's horrible."

"Funny though."

"Funny and horrible," Ezran agreed.

Across the valley on the ledge, Callum sat with Ellis petting Agir and Ava as they tried to come up with a plan to get out of there. Peering over the edge, he sighed as he saw a dark shadow slither by. "Nope, still there."

"I can't believe you're a mage," Ellis rambled. "I've never met an actual mage before. You're not at all like I expected."

"What were you expecting?"

"You know, taller, long robes, wrinklier, super smart," she answered eliciting a chuckled. "And maybe like a weird amulet or something?"

"Well I am in the market for a weird amulet if you know anybody."

"And you're so confident!"

"It's funny to hear someone say that," Callum sighed. "I don't think of myself as confident."

"Really, you should be, having all that incredible power."

Callum chuckled half-heartedly, "You see, when I think confident I think of people like Rayla, or Trezac, or…or my dad. And the truth is, I don't have that power," he pulled out the Primal Stone, "this does. All the magic, all the power, all the confidence…it's just because of this thing: a Primal Stone."

"That Primal Stone needs you to do all that amazing stuff. Without you it's just a neat, glowy ball."

"I guess so," Callum shrugged looking over the stone watching the storm rage inside it. "But without this, I'm nothing. Just a guy who can draw and make wry comments from time to time—and they're not even that wry."

"I'm not convinced," Ellis argued. "I have a feeling you'd be pretty amazing, even without your magic ball."

"Well you seem pretty great too," Callum returned earning a bark from Ava. "And Ava's also great!" From his right, Agir gave a yip and he sighed, ruffling the fire-fox's fur, "Yes, so are you Agir, you're just a fuzzy wuv-munkin!"

"HEY GUYS! I THINK THAT THING'S GONE!" Rayla shouted.

In his tree, Trezac fumbled into a sitting position, looking down at the foggy ground below. He didn't hear anything; nor did he sense it lurking either. Jumping down from the tree, he used the force to soften his landing, grunting as he stumbled slightly.

"Haven't seen it or heard it for a while," Rayla said as the Jedi walked over to join the rest of them, "Seems like it moved on."

"See ya sucker!" Ezran smirked. "Get it? Cause it's a giant leech?"

"So more've a description than an insult?" Callum asked.

"A little of both."

"It's probably gone, but let's not taunt it," Rayla reminded.

Trezac found himself nodding in agreement. "We should get moving. It could decide to come back."

"Exactly," Rayla said. "There's this little thing called irony: just as you say one thing, like you're really sure about it, the opposite happens."

As she was explaining it, Trezac's eyes widened as he saw the leech slowly rising to its full height behind the others. "You mean like that?"


	13. Web of Lies

Chapter 13

**A/N: hey y'all, remember, I'm just the writer, the OCs belong to ****_Gabeherndon308_****.**

"You mean like that?" Trezac questioned pointing up.

Whirling on their heels, everyone felt the blood drain from their face at the sight of the leech looming over them. With loud screams, the group leapt out of the way as the beast lunged, slamming its jaws down on where they'd previously been.

It first slithered after Ava and Ellis, who ran around it and lead it back closer to the others. Seeing what was like easier targets, the beast began to chase Rayla, who ran up a boulder and flipped back over the creature before continuing to run from it. Climbing back up in the tree, the elf's eyes widened as she saw the monster chasing Ezran. Fortunately, Ellis and Ava saved him, racing over and scooping him up.

"FOCUS! WE CAN DO THIS!" Callum cheered from the side. "EZ AND BAIT, YOU'RE UP!"

Ezran nodded, picking up Bait and closing his eyes. Through their clids each of them could see the bright flash of light accompanied by the pained screech of the beast as it was blinded.

"YES! ELLIS, AVA, AGIR: WOOF!"

Ezran hopped off Ava, allowing the wolf and rider to take off after the flaming fire-fox barking and running around the disoriented beast. Its massive head swung between the difference sources of sound coming from all around it, trying and failing to pinpoint its prey.

"Ok, my turn for Zap," Callum said drawing the lightning rune. The orb in his palm sparked to life and lightning crackled over him. "Here goes nothing," he threw his hand forwards, "Fulminus!"

A near deafening crack split the air as the lightning shot across the battlefield, slamming into its unsuspecting target. The leech released a series of agonized screeches, writhing as its body spasmed.

"YES! GET ZAPPED! GET ZAPPED BY THE ZAP HAND!" Callum cheered.

"Can you be astounded later?" Rayla asked pulling out her sword alongside Trezac.

"Right, Rayla, Trezac, you guys got this: Slish Slash!"

Unfortunately, at that moment, the beast seemed to be able to reorient itself, turning towards the pair with a shrill cry. Startled, Rayla stumbled back, tripping over a rock and knocking her sword from her grasp. Her eyes widened as she saw the beast slithering towards her before it threw its head back with another pained cry.

Looking over, she saw the cause. Trezac had stabbed his glowing silver blade into the beast, causing the stench of burnt flesh to permeate the air. The leech lunged at him and Trezac leapt back, almost shimmering in a way her kind would do when they wanted to hide. His yellow blade arched out, slashing the monster across the muzzle causing it to whip its head in her direction with a cry. Seeing her chance, Rayla sprinted. With quick steps she approached the monster, swinging her sword up and through the beast's neck for an effective kill. As it fell, the rolled out of the way, crouching next to Trezac.

"That was too close," she panted.

"No kidding," he agreed.

Seeing movement come from the monster, both gave startled cries as they the babies crawling their way out of their mother's body. At that moment, Rayla was never more glad for the strange human's magic as he sent the vile little creatures flying clear across the clearing.

"Still better than a Rathtar," Trezac mumbled.

-.-

Runaan forced his eyes open as the door before him gave a creak as his captors entered. A shiver ran through him as he saw Eleven skip in behind the High Mage with a smile, tossing him a little wave as her companion set his materials down.

"Enough brooding elf," the man spoke, "my patience wears thin." He turned ripping the tarp off the strange object that'd been sitting in front of him for hours. Tell me what you know about this relic or I will seal your fate!"

A lump formed in his throat. No…no…it couldn't be. How—how did the humans even get their hands on it?! Runaan trembled as he thought of what lied on the other side of that infernal prison. He would take Eleven's "fun" any day over _that_.

"You—you have succeeded," he stuttered shrinking away from the mirror.

"With what?"

"That mirror," he gulped, "you have found something worse than death."

The implication of what he just said hit him like a kick in the gut as he looked at the mage who'd been torturing him. Her golden eyes practically gleamed with excitement, and a wide smile split her face. What…what had he done? He'd just given vital intel to one of the most insane dark mages he'd ever encountered. And there was no doubt about it, she'd use this knowledge to inflict the most suffering.

"What is it?!" Viren demanded again, sounding more interested.

Steeling his resolve, Runaan glared up at them, "I will _never _help you!"

This time, it was Viren's face who went dark as he grabbed his staff, "Then, you are of no use to me."

Eleven giggled as Runaan's screamed permeated the dungeons, echoing almost melodically off the stone walls. Ancients, his fear felt so intoxicating.

"I always manage to capture the same expression," Viren drawled as the elf's screams were cut off.

She hopped over to Viren looking at the silver credit in his grey hand. "Oooh, defiance, giving way to absolute terror," she purred. "That's always the best."

-.-

"There it is!" Ellis pointed up the mountain, "there's the tree!"

All eyes scaled the slope of the mountain, landing on a single large tree high above the others illuminated by moonlight permeating through the clouds. "We're almost there!" Callum grinned. "We can do this! We can make it to the rim. We're going to find the healer and save the egg!"

Ava whimpered and Ezran bit his lip, looking distressed. "Oh no…"

"What is it?"

"I don't know how to say this…"

"Just spill it," Trezac said crossing his arms.

"Even if we make it to the rim, it doesn't matter, there is no miracle healer…I'm sorry," he answered setting Bait down.

"Stop being mysterious," Callum said. "If you're going to make a claim like that you owe everyone an explanation."

"Ok, Ava told me—"

"Ugh, here we go again," Callum rolled his eyes.

"No, it's true!" the boy protested. "I can understand animals."

"Well did you ask Bait?" Callum snapped. "He might disagree. Or maybe we can find a very opinionated squirrel around here!"

The younger prince threw himself over his backpack, "I knew you wouldn't listen to me!"

"Ezran, I'm listening to you, but it is pretty hard to believe," Rayla said kneeling beside him.

"I've always been different," Ezran began, "it's hard for me to make friends with other kids. I just feel like, I don't fit in."

"That's ok, fitting in's boring anyway," Rayla reassured.

"But with animals," he pet Bait, "somehow I have this connection. And a few years ago I realized I could understand what they were saying."

"Can you believe this?" Callum scoffed.

"Why would he lie?"

"Because he's a kid? Because it's fun? Because he's afraid to go up the mountain?!"

"I'm not afraid!"

Callum frowned, rolling his eyes, "Come on Ez, tell the truth."

"Callum, similar things happen with my people," Trezac shrugged. "Though…I've never heard of it to the extent Ezran has it. Mostly it's just being able to control and calm down animals and get them to cooperate—not really talk with them."

"Oh come on! The first time he did this I asked him to prove it! So Ezran said a group of Racoons told him that there was treasure hidden behind a waterfall. But when I went through the waterfall did I find treasure?"

"No," Ezran sighed.

"But did my underwear get soaked?"

"Yes."

"See, case closed!"

"The raccoons were being mischievous," Ezran stated. "I've since then learned you can't trust raccoons!"

"See! This is why you can't make friends!" Callum snarled.

"Callum! Back off!" Rayla growled standing up.

"Do you believe me Rayla?" Ezran asked.

"Does it matter?"

"I believe you Ez," Ellis smiled, "but I also know the Miracle Healer's real, cause I have Ava."

"Arguing over the fact isn't going to change the fact that getting up that mountain is likely still our best bet at saving the egg," Trezac spoke up. "We need to get going."

-.-

"Huh, the higher we walk up this Caldera, the brighter the Moon Rune glows," Callum commented.

"Maybe cause the higher we go the closer we are too the moon," Rayla deadpanned.

"I dunno, something seems different this time."

"I agree," Trezac concurred glancing around warily. He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. "Something's not right."

A disembodied moan echoed over the area, causing all of them to stop in their tracks. "Did…did anyone else hear that?"

"Yep, ignoring it! Keep moving," Rayla replied continuing to stomp forwards.

The moan came again and Trezac tentatively reached out with the force. The response he got almost made the young Jedi double over. This place had practically been saturated in something; something telling them to run, to turn back. He could feel it, all the pain, the fear, the anger, there was so much in this place.

_"Turn back."_

"Trezac?" Ezran asked pulling the padawan from his connection. "Are you ok?"

"Fine," he grunted. "Something really doesn't want us going up this mountain."

"What do you mean?" Callum questioned.

"This place, it's covered with…magic," he said unsure how to describe the sensation. "I tried to sense what was crying out, but instead all I got was something telling us to leave."

"Maybe we should go," Ezran whimpered as the moan echoed around them again.

"I'm going to share an old elven proverb with you," Rayla said, "When travelling up a mountain trying to save a dying dragon egg and you hear a spooky sound, just keep walking."

"That's really specific," Callum commented and they all flinched as another groan came.

"What if someone needs help?" Ellis asked trying to be optimistic.

Rayla sighed, sharing a look with Trezac before looking back to the prince. "Ez, you have a good heart. It's super annoying."

Standing up, she began to walk towards the cries when Trezac rested his hand on her shoulder. "Sure this is a good idea?"

"No, but he's right, someone could need help," Rayla pointed out. "I'll check this out, you stay here and watch them."

Before he could argue, she raced off into the fog, disappearing from sight. The padawan sighed, leaning against a tree and running his fingers though his hair. Ancients, this was going to take too long. They didn't have time to spare, not with the egg dying as they stood there.

Fortunately, their comrade returned less than a minute later looking pale as she cradled her injured hand.

"Did you find someone?" Ellis inquired.

Rayla shook her head. "No, there was no one there. We have to get moving."

They all shared a look, jogging to catch up with her. "Rayla, it looks like you've seen a ghost. What happened?" Trezac questioned.

"Yeah," Callum agreed, "Are you alright? You seem pretty shaken."

Rayla sighed turning to look at them, "It was barely alive, crumbled to dust right before my eyes. It was horrible."

A scream came from the back of the group and the two fighters pulled their weapons out as Ezran scampered towards them. "Ez, what's wrong?"

"I…I saw something…a face in the dark," he pointed to the shadows.

Creeping over, the three older members of the group peered in, using the light from Trezac's lightsabers to try to see what startled the boy. "Something doesn't feel right," Trezac murmured.

"I fell like we're being watched," Rayla agreed.

"..If…if you guys wanna turn back—" Ellis started before Callum cut her off.

"There's no turning back," he said. "We have to keep going, the egg doesn't have much time."

"Rayla, you take the front I take the back?" Trezac spoke up.

"Your swords give off light, might be better if you were in the front so we can see where we're going."

Giving a nod, Trezac took the lead, illuminating the path with a dull yellow glow. "Alright, it's gonna be a little tight from here." He strode forwards, using the force to push thick branches out of their way. As they moved forwards, they could all begin to see something big blocking their path.

"What is this?" Callum questioned.

"Looks like some sort of web," Ezran answered.

"Can you guys cut through it?"

Trezac began to raise his saber when Rayla stopped him, looking wary. "I don't think that's a good idea. We should go around."

Trezac raised a brow, looking at the girl. Just like earlier, she seemed to have gone pale, seeming afraid. He looked back to the webs frowning; did the webs have something to do with what frightened her earlier? If that was the case, he'd have to take her word for it. "Alright," he nodded. "Agir."

The little fox perked up, wagging his tail before running up and down the length of the block, sniffing curiously. He did this several times before returning with a whimper, resting his head on Trezac's shoe.

"I take that as there isn't an around," Callum muttered as Trezac knelt down to reassure his pet, "We need to punch through."

Rayla grimaced, reached out with her sword and pulling away, some webbing wrapped around it. "This is pretty thick webbing, my swords might get stuck. Trezac, your swords are sunforged blades, think you got this?"

"Lightsabers, not sunforged blades," he corrected activating the second one as he stood up and walked to the web wall. Swinging his sabers, they all wrinkled their noses at the smell of burning webs as he cut their path open. "Let's find out what made this mess."

"And don't touch the webs," Rayla warned holding her swords up as they crept forwards.

"Ugh, they're everywhere," Ezran groaned getting some in his hair. "It's too dark, even with Trezac's glowy-swords."

"Like I said earlier, something's here," he repeated, "something strong in the force."

"You think this thing has been what's been watching us?" Callum asked.

"It has to be," Rayla growled. "Nothing safe would make these," she sliced through a small web in their way, "whatever did this is dangerous, and very big."

Several of them gulped at that thoughts, going quiet as the cautiously continued forwards. It was then they could hear the soft clicking of something behind them. As they turned, Ezran screamed at the sight of the giant spider crawling behind them.

"What is that?!"

"Holy shit!"

Callum raced to the back of the group, holding out his Primal Stone, "Fulminis!" he exclaimed drawing the run in the air. The crack of lightning striking echoed around them, and the spider appeared to burst, sending Callum into a panic. "Ah! Did I get it? Where'd it go? Ew! It feels like it's in my hair!"

"It's a two-ton magical spider, you'd know if it were in your hair," Rayla deadpanned.

"Then, if it's not dead, where did it go?!" Trezac reminded and at all pressed back to back, looking around.

Soft clicks came from above, and all of them silently cursed as they looked up. And, sure enough, there stood the spider on the webs directly above them. It gave a hiss, jumping towards them, causing Trezac to use the force in an attempt to push it back. Only, it had no effect as the beast kept coming towards them. With loud screams, they scrambled up a nearby slope, hiding behind some trees listening as they heard it continue to patrol the area.

"How are we going to get past that thing?" Callum panted.

"I don't know," Trezac bit his lip, "the force had no effects on it. It was like I was trying to push a hologram!"

"Even if we managed to get past, one wrong step and were caught in those webs," Rayla reminded looking grim, "and trust me, you don't want to know what happens if you get caught in a web."

"There has to be a way. We have to get through!"

As they argued, Ezran peered over the rocks looking at the spide. It crawled back up onto the webs, looking in their direction before giving another chitter. "Wait a second…" he murmured looking at it as it continued to chitter, "something's not right…in a good way this time!"

"Huh?"

-.-

"You know, there's something so invigorating about climbing a mountain at midnight. The moonlight, the clouds, the fresh air," Soren rambled on taking a deep breath before coughing. "Ahh! Claudia! I think you horse just—"

"Wasn't the horse," his sister sang and the boy looked annoyed.

"To be honest I am disgusted, and a little impressed," Soren said as they rode on.

Behind them, the Twelfth brother crouched in the shadows, narrowing his eyes. Honestly, how foolish could these two idiots be? If it wasn't for the fact he didn't know this infernal planet, he would've captured the princes and the traitor by now.

But no matter, all he had to do was wait. They'd lead him to the targets, he just needed to be patient.

-.-

"What should we do? We could turn back and try to find another way up the Caldera," Ellis offered.

Ezran chuckled, emerging from his hiding spot, "No, it's going to be ok. We can just walk right past it."

"What are you talking about?"

"It's not real, I'm sure of it," he answered.

"That doesn't make any sense," Rayla muttered.

"Where's your proof?"

"The chitters and screams don't make sense," Ezran replied as if that explained everything. "That's not how spiders talk."

"Ok, it's official," Callum sighed, "Ez, you've lost your mind."

"No I haven't, and I'm gonna prove it," the boy exclaimed racing down the path.

"Ezran!" Callum exclaimed with Rayla and Ellis on his heels.

Trezac ran a hand down his face, "I'm gonna die, surrounded by the biggest idiots in the galaxy." Sighing, he ran after them, jumping over larger rocks to get down the slope faster. His eyes widened in horror as he saw the massive monster leap down and roar at Ezran.

The sheer force of its cry caused the boy to almost fall over, but when it finished, Ezran just stood there and screamed back at it. The spider tilted its head, before releasing another cry in Ezran's face, but it still made no move to attack as Ezran once again yelled at it.

With a laugh, the boy turned to look at them all, "Try screaming at him! It's fun!"

Callum inched forwards, stratching out his hand. The beast gave another call, causing him to take a few steps back, yet, like the same times before, it did nothing.

"See, it won't do anything."

"You're right…"

"Let's see if we can get it to turn around and show us its creepy glow-face," Ezran smiled making a face at the monster.

"Ezran, I owe you an apology," Callum said.

"Well at least one."

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you. I promise, I won't ever doubt you again."

"If you really mean it…"

"I do."

Ezran smirked, "Then you have to do the thing."

Callum's eyes widened in horror. "Here? Now?"

The boy's grin only grew wider as he nodded. Callum took a deep breath of defeat, then proceeded to do one of the strangest things Trezac's ever seen in his entire life. "Callum's famous jerkface dance!" Ezran laughed.

For once in his life, Trezac was at a loss for words at that.

"So…if it's fake, what's it doing here?" Rayla inquired looking at the spider.

"Cheering for the jerkface dance, I think," Ezran answered. "It wants more. Knees higher! Knees higher!"

"That doesn't answer the question," Trezac mumbled turning to walk up the slope as the others followed behind, Callum dancing on behind them.


	14. Into the Storm

Chapter 14

**A/N: hey y'all, welcome back for another chapter of the story. Remember, I'm just the writer!**

"This is it!" Ellis exclaimed pointing to a massive tree just ahead. "We hid in that three when the miracle healer found us!" Ducking inside, the girl pet her wolf, "Remember this place girl?" Ava gave a short bark, laying down panting as they all filed inside.

"So now what?"

"Uh, Miracle Healer?!" Callum yelled up into the hallow tree. "Hello! We're here!"

"I don't know. I just showed up and then she just showed up."

"Don't see why that shouldn't work," Trezac deadpanned.

Light began to filter in through the hole they cam through. Looking at each other, the group filed out, looking up as the moon began to glow. "I think it is working," Rayla commented.

The light got brighter, and they could see something approaching. The call of a bird echoed over them and the large shadow landed revealing a glowing blue bird and an elvish woman.

"Oh no!" Rayla gasped. "Ez was right about everything. There's no miracle healer, she's a fake!"

"What?"

"How do you know?" Callum asked.

"She's a moon mage, an illusionist. She can't heal anything."

"It's true," the elf spoke up, "I am no healer. I am Lujanne. Guardian of the Moon Nexus."

"I'm such an idiot, I should've figured it out, none of those monsters were real, they were all illusions."

"Yes," she confirmed. "They were just to scare you. That's how I protect the Nexus."

"But…I don't understand," Ellis voiced, looking confused as her hand gripped Ava's fur. "If you're not a healer, how did you save Ava's leg?"

Lujanne knelt in front of them, gently scratching under Ava's chin, "I remember you and that little cub, both so frightened and sad. I saw she had lost her leg and I understood humans would have trouble accepting her. But I knew her spirit was strong and that was all that really mattered. To help you, I created an illusion," she placed her hand on the jewel hanging from Ava's collar. "A leg that others would see and feel even though it wasn't real. I enchanted the moonstone collar to hold the spell. She never needed that fourth leg to be happy; everyone else did." Removing the collar, they all watched the illusion fall away.

"But the help we need is real," Ezran spoke up biting his lip, "an illusion won't help us." Stepping forwards, he pulled his bag around and undid the latch, revealing the dimly glowing egg within.

The elf gasped, looking grim. "It's the egg of the Dragon Prince," Rayla continued. "It was stolen but we saved it—I mean, we were trying to save it and return it to its mother. But there was a terrible accident. You see I—"

Lujanne raised her hand, cutting the younger elf off as she leaned forwards. She reached out a hand, going silent for a moment before a shadow crossed over her face as she closed her eyes. "It's life is fading quickly. I'm afraid the only way to save it now is to hatch it…but…but that won't be possible," she looked up to the clear night skies, "Sky Dragons can only be born in the eye of a storm; the weather's clear for miles."

"No, that can't be it," Ezran pleaded. "There has to be a way to save it!"

"I'm sorry," Lujanne whispered as they all watched the glow practically fizzle out.

"No…"

Rayla closed her eyes, looking away. "I dropped it. This is all my fault."

"No, I should've trusted you," Callum reassured. "Things only went wrong cause we kept fighting."

Rayla shook her head, tears trailing down her cheeks, "I let you both down. I let the world down."

"You tried Rayla," EZran sniffed hugging her, "you're so good and brave."

"There has to be another way," Trezac said looking towards the elf.

"There isn't, like I said, Sky Dragons can only be born in a storm."

Callum's eyes widened, "Wait…" reaching into his satchel he pulled out the Primal Stone, "a Storm…What if I—I know what to do." All eyes turned towards Callum in surprise as he raised the Primal Stone and smashed it against the ground. Lightning crackled and thunder roared over them, sheaking the mountain as the storm was unleashed. The moonlight began to fade away as clouds began to circle overhead, causing a cold breeze to wash over them. Those breezes only grew in strength, forcing everyone to duck down close to the ground as the winds began to try to push them back. A strong gust nearly made their grip slip, and, to their horror, the egg began to roll out of the bag.

"NO!" Ezran shouted, his voice barely audible over the storm.

Rayla was the first to react. Forcing herself to her feet, she raced against the winds and chased after the egg. It continued its roll towards the cliff, and she barely reached it in time before it went careening over the edge. Rolling onto her stomach, she struggled to push against the winds as they attempted to drive her over the edge.

However, it wasn't long before something started pulling her towards the others. Eyes widening, her gaze landed on Trezac as he stretched his ands out, clearly trying to use his magic to pull her and the egg back over away from the edge. A stick slammed into her injured arm and she cried out, trying to keep her hold on the egg as agony pulsed through her. Through the pain, she could dimly make out the face that she now seemed to be facing the ground, as if she was being sucked into the air. Tilting her head down, she was proven right, a cyclone had formed around them, sucking the air up into the atmosphere, trying to take her and the egg with it. Trezac was keeping hold so far, but even she could see him struggling against the winds, his balance faltering with each gust threatening to knock hurl her off the mountain.

But, the good news was, with the cyclone forming, it meant the eye of the storm was about to come. Soon the struggle would be over and done with and they'd be out of the danger.

The winds trying to pull her up slowly died down, and Rayla sighed, hugging the egg close as she landed on her knees. Looking up, she saw stars and moonlight shining through as the cyclone still light with lightning and roar with thunder around them. They were safe in the eye.

A slight tingle ran through her body, and she looked down, watching as small tendrils of lightning began to arch over the eggshell. Eyes widening, she set the egg down, stumbling back as more lightning began to strike and the egg began to retain its glow. Colorful light permeated the air and they could all see the egg rising up from the ground as it began to glow brighter. A large arch of lightning shot out and they could see glowing cracks along the shell.

However, a dark egg still fell to the ground once the show was over, small bits of smoke rising up from it as the storm began to dissipate.

"No…" Rayla whispered feeling her world drop out from under her. They'd been so, _so_ close! They had the egg, they had the storm, why didn't it work?!

Trezac meanwhile closed his eyes, reaching out in an effort to pray they were wrong and that they hadn't failed. Something strong brushed against his own energy, making the padawan frown. It definitely didn't feel like the others so what… "It's alive!" he exclaimed right as they all heard the first crack.

They all looked down in hope as they watched cracks spreading across the dark shell, and a small piece fell away, revealing a closed scaly eye. The hatchling lifted his head with a little yawn, taking his first breath of fresh air as the shell fell away. He stumbled to his feet, the dragonling's legs barely seeming able to support the newborn's body as he stumbled over himself.

"Come on Bait! Help him! His eyes are stuck," Ezran encouraged setting his pet down in front of the hatchling. "You need to lick them open!" The glowtoad gave his master a glare before turning back to the hatchling turning to a shade a purple to express his displeasure. The long tongue shot out, quickly licking the hatchlings eyes open so he could see the world.

Wide blue eyes opened and the small creature gave an inquisitive yip, jumping on Bait and licking him before he hopped off, stumbling into Ezran's arms.

"You already know your own name! Azymondias!" Ezran grinned hugging the newborn close. "We'll call you Zym. That's Rayla," he pointed to the elf, "You almost blew off the mountain, but Rayla saved you, with Trezac's help. He's over there!"

Zym perked up, turning around and hopping over to Rayla giving her injured hand a few soft licks. "Aw, it's ok little one," she cooed. "The important thing is you. One miracle is enough for me today."

With a chitter, Zym tilted his head looking at the binding. Sniffing it curiously, the hatchling bit down on the fabric, pulling on it till they all heard a snap as Zym was sent rolling back into Ezran and Callum, a silver binding in his jaws.

They all sat down, eager to get some rest as Zym stretched his legs, bounding between all of them. Violet light began to fill the sky and they all turned looking to see what appeared to be a comet or shooting star of some sort flying overhead.

Like a firework, it burst above them, releasing small little glowing orbs down to the ground.

"It's beautiful," Callum admired.

Rayla smiled reaching out a hand an catching one. "They're gentle. They even tickle a little," she chuckled gently bowing it away.

Trezac on the other hand, felt the need to pull away from these things as they floated towards him. Something about them felt…wrong—almost violated. His gaze trailed up over the sky, following the glowing violet path to a peak rising miles away. And all he could feel was dread as he swore he heard something whispered on the wind.

_"They're coming."_


	15. One Day

Chapter 15

**A/N: hey y'all! Welcome back! Hope everyone's doing ok with the virus going around in stuff. Just remember, wash your hands, stay in quarantine; you should be fine...hopefully.**

**Ok, PSA out of the way, remember, I'm just the writer. Trezac's owned by ****_Gabeherndon308_****.**

Trezac sat mediating by a small pool, keeping a ear out as the kids played nearby. He could hear Ezran and Ellis giggling as Azymondias chased after…something. Reaching out through the force, he sensed the small, familiar pulse of one of the moon moths that flew around the area.

Another, powerful presence brushed against his own, and Trezac opened an eye, seeing Zym curiously looking at him. He felt the corner of his mouth tilt up, and he sent another gentle push causing the small dragon to jump in surprise, sending his mixed emotions of fear and excitement out clearly. That caused the padawan to chuckle, he remembered being like that. Control came with time, and time was currently something their newest comrade did not experience much of yet.

Zym did not appear to appreciate the amusement, and plopped beside him, closing his eyes as he tried to imitate the teen.

Trezac raised a brow. He gave Zym a minute of focus, tops.

"Come and get it everyone!" Lujanne called and Zym immediately took off.

Trezac gave a knowing sigh as he got up. Zym didn't even make it ten seconds; which wasn't surprising since he was a newborn, he was far too young to be learning how to control his connection to the force just yet.

Walking to the table, the padawan's brows rose as he saw a feast sitting on a table. It looked similar to the ones he used to attend with the Jedi—when they weren't out on assignments—though he didn't recognize some of the food.

"Elves and humans over here," Lujanna continued motioning to the table. "And those with three or more legs can sit over there," she pointed to several bowls on the ground, "with Phoe-Phoe."

Taking his seat, Trezac reached out to grab a piece of food only to frown as he sensed something coming from it. It…it almost felt like what he sensed when they were coming up the mountain.

"You have the best food here," Ezran moaned taking another bite, "what's your secret?"

"Well, my secret is…it's all fake," she smiled.

Callum stopped eating, sharing a look with the others, "What do you mean?"

"You know, fake," she repeated. "They're delicious illusions. You're actually eating grubs."

Trezac grimaced, pushing his plate away. Suddenly he didn't feel so hungry anymore.

Ezran, however, did not pick up on the actual implications of the Moon Mage's answer. "Oh, you must mean _grub_. As in, _wow this is some good grub_!"

"No…" Lujanne answered. "Do you see what Phoe-Phoe's eating?"

All heads turned to the bird. "That bowl of worms?"

"Yes! Those are grubs!"

"I don't care," Ellis remarked taking another mouthful as the two princes looked sick. "This illusion pie is the best I've ever had."

The brothers immediately started retching as Trezac scooched his chair away from the puking princes.

"Hey everybody," Rayla greeted waltzing over.

"Well you're in a good mood!" Ellis smiled.

"I am! It does fell good to have two working hands again—uh, no offense Ava."

Trezac frowned, "I understand the concept of not wanting to lose a limb, but can't you just replace it with a prosthetic? That's what Master Skywalker had to do when his hand got cut off."

They all looked at him owlishly. "Uh…what's a prosthetic?"

"A replacement limb."

"Like a peg-leg?" Ellis offered.

Trezac facepalmed. "No, it works just the same as any other limb, even a hand," he wiggled his fingers.

"Trezac, where the heck are you from? Cause even in Xadia we don't have that," Rayla replied putting her hands on her hips before glancing at the Moon Mage, "Do we?"

"Not that I'm aware."

"I already told you, I'm not from Xadia," he deadpanned. "I'm from another world."

"Yeah right?" Rayla scoffed as Lujanne appeared interested.

"A Star-Walker? Incredible, I've only ever heard legends."

"You seriously believe him?" Rayla muttered.

Lujanne shrugged, "There is far more to the universe we live in than we can ever hope to understand. And, since I've spent so long here, I've had a lot of time to read the ancient texts. They often spoke of Star-Walkers, beings who came from beyond Xadia, wielding blades of light. Rumor has it, they were the first magic users of Xadia."

"Wow, that's actually pretty cool," Callum said.

"That still doesn't explain how he can replace a hand?"

"I can't! You need a medical bay and a doctor for that!"

Rayla scowled, her brow twitching before she looked to everyone else. "And how are all of you feeling?"

"Good!"

"Amazing!"

"Awesome, cause it's time to go," Rayla stated crossing her arms.

"Nooo!"

"What?"

"We can't!"

"Rayla, we've only been here two days," Callum protested,

"Danger's coming for us, I know it," Rayla growled.

Trezac frowned thinking back to the sense of dread he'd been experiencing since Zym hatched. "Rayla's right. Something's coming for us, something dangerous. The longer we stay, the greater the chance it has to find us."

"They're right," Lujanne spoke up. "The night the Dragon Prince was born, I sensed something amiss. Those strange purple whisps…"

"Yeah, those things felt wrong to me too," Trezac nodded.

"Dark forces are pursuing you."

"They have to be, that same night I had a vision, and my people typically don't experience that unless something really, really bad is about to happen," Trezac confessed.

"A vision?" Rayla frowned. "Of what?"

"I didn't get much, just a warning: _they're comin_g," he repeated, repressing a shiver that travelled down his spine.

"Who's coming?" Ezran inquired.

"No one wanting to be our friends that's for sure," Rayla answered. "Which is why we need to leave. Besides, we have precious cargo to deliver," she motioned to Zym, "War's coming the the world's never seen, unless we get the wee dragon home to his mum."

"But Zym's so little. He still needs to learn how to fly," Ezran protested.

"Master Skywalker always believed in learning on the job," Trezac repeated rolling his eyes. Wonder who he learned that from?

Lujanne chuckled, looking towards Ezran, "You seem to have a special connection to the dragonling; perhaps you could teach him?"

"Me?" Ezran blinked. "I could try."

"And I was hoping to learn about moon magic while we're here," Callum spoke up. "Trezac, you wanna come?"

The padawan blinked, setting his ration bar down. "I suppose there'd be no harm."

Lujanne hummed to herself, "I could teach you some things."

"Hey! I thought you two were on my side!" Rayla protested.

"A few more days Rayla, that's all we're asking," Callum pressed.

Rayla groaned, "Ugh, fine! One more day! One! But I'm serious about the danger. I'll keep patrolling, everyone else, stay on your toes."

"I'll give you a break in a little bit," Trezac nodded.

"It's fine, you can join me when you're done learning about magic, better to have two sets of eyes rather than one."

-.-

"I can't believe I'm gonna learn magic from a real mage!" Callum exclaimed. "No offense Trezac!"

"I'm still not a mage."

Lujanne chuckled, leading the way, "How do you know I'm real?"

"Uhh…"

"Your emotions are real enough," Trezac answered. "And you don't feel like the beasts in the forest. Those just had pressing feelings of what they wanted the observer to feel."

Lujanne blinked at the padawan. "I…I suppose that's one way of putting it." Striding forwards, she lead the way up some steps, "This is the Moonhenge. Thousands of years ago, when Xadia was one land, the ancient ancestors of Moonshadow Elves performed fantastic rituals here." She lifted her arm, drawing a rune in the air, "Historia viventem."

Trezac felt the air around them change. Almost like a cool breeze had come through. Before his eyes he saw starry figures walking by into the henge.

"The legends say they could use the power of the Nexus to open a portal to another plane. A shimmering world beyond life and death," Lujanne continued as they walked through the mirage.

"But it's ruins now. What happened?" Callum inquired.

"The Moon Druids destroyed it themselves when Xadia was divided in two. They decided it was safer to disable this magical place."

"That's so sad," Callum looked down.

"Ever since then there's always been a guardian of the Nexus. A mage, like myself, whose duty is to prevent humans from discovering it."

"What happens when humans do discover it? Do you like…" Callum trailed off moving his finger across his neck in a slicing motion.

Lujanne merely laughed, "Nah, why kill them when you can break their brains with insane illusions? I've got some real mind melters. They would completely freak your bean."

"Considering the things I've seen, I doubt it," Trezac muttered.

"Interested are we?"

"Ever seen a Rathtar?" he replied.

"What's a…rathtar?"

"Sarlaac?"

"A what?"

"Vorkskr?"

"Huh?"

"Diagona?"

"Now you're making things up."

"Nope it's real," Trezac deadpanned. "Ever hear of an Acklay or a Nexu?"

"No?"

"Be glad, fought both in a gladiatorial arena on Genonosis, not fun," he grimaced. "Ok, finial round, Geonosian brain worms!"

"I don't even want to know what those are," Callum gagged.

"I do!" Lujanne smiled.

"Alright," he shrugged, "they're tiny wprms that hatch from an egg, forcing themselves into your brain through your nose, and take over your mind so you basically become a living zombie and each time they attack you get to see the worm shooting out of their mouth like a freaky tongue."

"You're joking…right?" Callum laughed nervously.

"Nope, fought some, wasn't fun," he shivered at the memory.

Lujanne shrugged, before turning and continuing up the path. "Though Primal Energy is everywhere, it may be weaker or stronger at different times and places. The ocean is strongest at high tide, sky is strongest in a storm, and the moon is strongest—"

"When it's full!" Callum blurted.

"Please don't interrupt, but yes," she replied. "There are six special places where the magic of Primal Energies are most pure and powerful in this world. Such a place is called a Nexus." She lead them up onto a balcony, overlooking a large lake sitting in the caldera, "This is the Moon Nexus. It reflects the moon perfectly. When the moon is full, its light completely fills the lake."

"Wow."

"I love this! I love learning about magic!" Callum admired. "But…I want you to teach me how to do Moon Magic. Maybe some hand's on learning? Get in there, show me how to do a moonbeam, a moon ray, a moon…shine?"

"Human's can't do magic."

"Sure they can! I did magic!"

"Right," Lujanne rolled her eyes, "with a Primal Stone. But then, you smashed it, so now you're just a standard human again."

"But I know other humans who can do magic!" Callum protested.

Lujanne scowled, "We do not call that practice magic. It's an abomination, an atrocity."

"Trezac can do magic! Show her!"

Trezac opened his mouth to protest but looking at Lujanne he stopped himself. He knew that look, it was one some of the other Masters would give their soldiers and even padawans like him; contempt.

She didn't believe that humans could do the things her kind could, and if they could, they were doing something that was beneath her. And here she was going on about how fun it was to break people's minds.

Looking around, Trezac's gaze landed on several boulders around them. He stretched out his arms, lifting them up and raising the stones into the air, allowing them to spin around in a circle before he set them back down on the ground. Turning back to Lujanne, he repressed a smirk as he caught her shocked expression.

"I'm going on patrol," he stated coldly, "come find me when you're going to take this seriously."


	16. Surrounded

Chapter 16

**A/N: hey everyone, glad to be back! Remember, I'm just the writer. Gabeherdon308 owns the OCs.**

"So, he had a whole day of training. Can he fly now?" Rayla asked as she and Trezac stopped in front of Zym and Ezran as they approached their lodgings for the time being.

"No, not yet," I'm doing my best guys," Ezran replied before turning to Zym and kneeling down, "and so are you. I know you are."

"Either way, we're leaving tomorrow," Rayla reminded. "There's danger coming. I know it. We have to get moving."

"Then we should all get some rest."

"You guys do that, I'm going to stay up and keep watch, something's wrong," Trezac crossed his arms.

"That danger you said you sensed earlier?" Rayla inquired.

Trezac nodded, "It feels closer. And I'd rather not be ambushed in the middle of the night again."

"I was planning to do one more perimeter check, two sets of eyes are better than one."

"And you should have an advantage since you're a Moonshadow Elf?" Trezac inquired.

"Yes, thank you for noticing!"

Trezac rolled his eyes, "C'mon. Let's get started."

-.-

The caws of crows echoed down the hall as Lord Viren approached followed by the Inquisitor. "Sound's spooky."

Viren ignored her commentary, entering the chamber and focusing on the figure petting one of the caged birds. "Crow Lord." The man didn't appear to hear him, causing Viren to clear his throat, "You! Crow Lord!"

"Oh! Sorry. I heard you calling for the Crow Lord," the man apologized taking a seat. "He's not hear right now."

"So who are you?"

"Oh! Well, I'm…I'm the Crow Master."

"Can you still do the tasks of the Crow Lord?" the Inquisitor asked.

"Well…it's like Assistant Crow Lord—I just got promoted—"

Eleven interrupted, looking annoyed, "Congrats, but can you do his job? Sending…mail?"

"Sure! Of course!"

Viren set down a tray with four letters on them. "Good. Send these."

"Um…oh…These…these, uh, seem to have the seal of the King on it."

"And?"

"Well…uh…yikes…the King is….you know…"

"We know he's dead," Eleven groaned. "Just send the stupid letters."

"I-I can't."

Eleven gave a pretend pout, "Shame, cause he was _really_ insistent on getting these letters out. I mean are you going to deny a man's last wish? Not to mention…you were _just _promoted. I'm sure that means you're…current position is _very_ fragile. And I'm sure you can be easily replaced!"

"What my _assistant_ means to say here, it that your new position is delicate," Viren rephrased watching the man tremble in fear towards Eleven. "You want to do a good job, I understand that. But understand this," he slammed his hands on the table, "fail to do send these letters, and you could be charged with treason! Which well…you know what happens to traitors."

Crow Master gulped, shakily grabbing the tray, "Now that I think about it. I'm just gonna go ahead and take care of these for you."

"Wise choice! Hope to see you again!" Eleven cackled as she skipped down the hall.

-.-

Trezac crouched on a rock overlooking the grove. Closing his eyes, he could feel the presence of something nearby…something dark. Whatever had been warning him, he knew this was it, whatever the threat was it was here.

So where was it?

He almost missed it, but a soft melody began to flow through the night air. Stifling a yawn, he reached down and scratched Agir's head as the fox crawled up to join him.

What he didn't expect, was the infernal little creature to bite him.

Now, wide awake, Trezac glared down at the firefox holding his hand. "Hey!"

Instead of whining like he usually did when chided, Agir simply lit on fire, leaping down from the rock, before stopping and looking at him, then back in the direction of the eerie melody. The same one that had started when he started to feel drowsy.

Damn, his master wasn't kidding when he said the Force worked in mysterious ways. He just never mentioned it sometimes came up and bit you in the ass.

Leaping from the rock, Trezac silently landed behind Agir, and the little fox doused his flames leading him through the brush. As they moved, Trezac could feel it, the presence of the Darkside was getting much stronger here, as was the haunting song.

A flash of white caught his eye and the padawan dove behind a tree, grabbing his lightsabers, but not activating them. Peering around, he saw Rayla. The Elven girl was dragging her feet, clearly affected by the music. Shaking her head, she stumbled over to the bushes, picking up and flower before promptly passing out.

Once she was out, three figures emerged from the woods: Claudia, Soren, and an Inquisitor standing behind them with a triumphant smirk on his face.

**A/N: hey y'all, I know this chapter's really short, but I just wanted to give y'all something with all this quarantine going on and all that. Anyways, my updates may take a little longer to come around cause finals are coming up and switching from in person to online for hard sciences is not helping my grades DX. That's all the announcements I have for now, please review!**


	17. Dark Deeds

Chapter 17

**A/N: Hey y'all! Happy Star Wars Day! May the Fourth be with you! Anyways, I decided to take a break from my studies today to work on this and my concept art for the Eleventh Sister (I put it up as the new cover for the story if you're curious). So, as usual, I don't own TDP or Star Wars. I'm just the writer for Gabeherdon308's idea.**

Soren raised his sword, looming over Rayla as she lied unconscious on the ground. Reaching for his sabers, Trezac pulled them out ready to fight when he saw Soren lower the sword.

"What are you waiting for?" the inquisitor snarled. "Kill her!"

Claudia nodded, "She's a Moonshadow elf who kidnapped the Princes. You just have to—"

"I know!" Soren interrupted. "It's just…I've never attacked someone who was sleeping before. It doesn't seem…sporting."

Well, at least Soren has some honor. Trezac would give him that much.

"Then step aside," the brother growled shoving Soren and Claudia aside. He reached over his shoulder, pulling out a disk with a handle in the middle. The dual-bladed lightsaber burst to life, covering the clearing in an eerie red glow. "I will do what you are too cowardly to not."

At that moment, Trezac leapt out of the bushes as Rayla apparently woke up, swiping the inqisitor's legs out from under him allowing the padawan to throw a force push to shove their adversaries back.

"But…how did you resist the sleep spell?" Claudia sputtered looking between the two of them.

"Hard to stay awake when you have a thorn stabbing ya," Rayla smirked dropping the rose. She tossed a glance at him and the padawan shrugged.

"Sleep is for the weak."

"The padawan. I thought I'd find you here," a chuckle came as the inquisitor got up. "Lord Vader was very unhappy when you took off. Children shouldn't be running around unattended."

"Like you came here for my safety," Trezac growled activating his blades, the silver and gold light clashing against the brilliant scarlet.

"Perhaps not, but Lord Vader wants you alive. And if you cooperate, he might even be merciful."

"I'm assuming this Lord what's-his-face is about as merciful as you were intending to be," Rayla snarled pulling out her blades.

"Besides, why would anyone show mercy to an elf?" Soren growled flashily swinging his sword.

"What'cha doin? I don't see any talent shows around here," Rayla smirked causing the blonde to frown.

"Oh." Raising his sword, Soren parried Rayla as she lunged at him.

Seizing the opportunity, Trezac used the force to shove both Dark Side users away from him. Claudia slammed into a tree, but he paid her no mind. He was more focused on the larger threat. Energy crackled in the air as lightsabers clashed. Parrying with one blade, Trezac swung the second, forcing the inquisitor to drop back or be skewered.

The inquisitor retaliated by using the force to hurl Trezac back. Flipping in the air, the padawan vaulted off a tree, rolling back to his feet in time to parry as the red blade swung down at him. He swung out a leg, knocking the inquisitor's feet out from under him.

He took this chance to retreat into the forest. He needed to get Vader's lacky away from the others. He wouldn't be above using them for his own gain. Leaping up the hill, he hid behind one of the boulders by the Nexus.

A soft thud let him know his opponent had followed. "My, my, is that fear I sense? I never would have expected it from the apprentice of Obi-Wan. After all, you fought against Lord Vader and lived to tell the tale. Needless to say child, that's no easy feat."

Crouching down, Trezac picked up a rock, throwing it closer to the rocks on the other side, away from him. The footsteps stopped, and began to retreat, slowly creeping out, he could see the lacky calmly strolling away from him.

"Lord Vader might very well let you live. That is, if you tell us what we want to know," the inquisitor peered behind the boulders and turned around.

Trezac froze, reaching for his sabers. But his didn't activate them, cause it…it was almost like the inquisitor couldn't see him. He was pretty sure the man wasn't blind, so why wasn't he attacking?

Unless…unless he was trying to lure him into a false sense of security.

Green eyes narrowed as the man glanced behind a few more boulders. That had to be it.

"I know you're here boy. I can sense it! Show yourself!"

Trezac looked down at his arm, eyes widening. He could almost see through himself, appearing translucent under the light of the half-moon. Just like the elves he saw on the night they left the castle, when the assassins attacked. He wasn't totally invisible, but would be unnoticeable to a passing glance. And right now, his opponent was far more occupied in searching rocks than under his own nose.

Almost as quickly as it came, the inquisitor's anger vanished, "Come on now. There's no need for games child. We just want to take you home. Be much better than stuck on a backwards mudball like this. All you need to do is tell us where your master is."

Trezac's eyes widened at that. Of course, of course Anak—Vader was looking for his old master…their old master. He was the only one who knew what happened to Skywalker's and Padme's kids, the twins he helped smuggle away from their father upon the death of their mother. And, not to mention, there was the problem on the empire itself. If the inquisitors were here that would mean they had a ship, one if they got a signal to would send an army to enslave the people and find a way to harness their magic for their own dark gain.

He couldn't let that happen.

Racing forwards, Trezac activated his blade, the gold one colliding with the red as the man stood smug. "Done with your tricks now I see. Come to consider my offer?"

"Even if I did know," he pulled out his second blade, turning it on and the silver saber erupted from the inquisitor's back, "I would never tell you."

-.-

"Good morning! I assume!" Gren greeted as Viren and Eleven strode down the stairs. "Come to think of it. I have no idea what time of day it is."

"It's morning," Eleven supplied cheerily as they walked past.

"Good! That's good! Good morning then!" Gren called as they walked into the elf's former cell.

"Did we have to seal him away? I liked my toy," Eleven pouted looking at the empty chains.

"It was for the best. We had no reason to keep him alive if he was of no use to us," Viren answered waving his hand, allowing the candles to come to light.

Eleven sighed, walking over and standing beside the High Mage looking over the mirror. "Something worse than death," she mused, "just what could you be that scared my toy so badly?"

"And that Eleven, is what we are going to spend today figuring out."

"Goodie."

-.-

"Trezac…"

"Trezac…wake up!"

Startling awake, the ex-padawan blinked at Ezran as the boy sat at the edge of his bed. "E-Ezran? What's wrong?"

"You ok? You were muttering something in your sleep, but I couldn't understand it."

"Nothing you need to worry about," he reassured and the boy light up, looking relieved. "That's good! Cause Claudia and Soren are here! Can you believe it? They found us, and they aren't mad! Which is surprising cause last time we saw Claudia we did chain her to a wall, Callum stole the Primal Stone and then broke the Primal Stone!"

"How does my hair look?" Callum spoke up.

Rubbing his eyes, Trezac turned to see the other boy trying to comb his hair back. "It could be more up," Ezran voiced. "Who are you trying to impress? Claudia?"

Trezac raised a brow at the immediate shot of fear in the other teen. "Wha—What?! Trying to impress—no!" he laughed before turning around and pushing his hair up more into a spike. "Does this look more up."

"Yeah, Trezac drawled sarcastically, "you should totally go out like that."

-.-

"I figured out what's going on," Soren said pacing the room he and his sister shared, "why the princes and Trezac have gotten all chummy with the elf."

Claudia groaned, running her hand down her face as he brother rambled, "Don't talk to me till I've had my hot brown morning potion." Pouring a glass, she took a sip, sighing in relief feeling more awake. "Ok. Go on."

"She must've bitten them and now they all have Moonshadow Madness!"

"What?"

"That's a thing!" he argued.

Claudia raised a brow, "Where did you hear about that?"

"…Camp…"

He knight sighed as his sister burst out laughing, doubling over in her chair. "We need to do something! Dad gave us a mission."

"To bring the princes home and bring back Trezac so he can go back to his family. I mean his sister came all this way," Claudia spoke up thinking back to the palace. Twelve had sounded so worried about Eleven's little brother. He was insistent that they get him home as soon as possible.

Though…Trezac didn't seem particularly happy to see him last night. Not to mention they immediately started fighting with their sunforged blades. Did…did Twelve lie to her?

The black haired girl shook her head. No, no, he couldn't have. Her father agreed with Eleven and Twelve. There must've been a misunderstanding, that was all. "Speaking of which? Where's Twelve? I haven't seen him since last night."

"Who cares," Soren scoffed crossing his arms.

"What?"

"Claudia. I don't like him. He's…creepy. Did it not strike you odd that he followed us all the way up Mt. Katolis without telling us he was there?" Soren wrinkled his nose. "Besides…I don't think he's telling us everything."

"I'm sure it's fine Sor-bear," Claudia scoffed. "All we need to worry about is getting the princes home."

"You know unless an accident happens, accidentally," her brother muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," Soren sighed turning around. "My point is," looking at the ground he smiled, picking up a brown bag, "we should stuff them in sacks!"

"Soren! They're our friends. We should try persuasion first. Use our words. Not our muscles."

"So you're saying, we need to butter them up?" Soren smirked.

Claudia grinned, tapping her nose, "Exactly."


	18. Shadows of Doubt

Chapter 18

**A/N: hey guys! Welcome back for the next chapter! Hope y'all're doing well. Anyways, the OCs belong to Gabeherdon308, I'm just the writer.**

"PANCAKES!" Claudia exclaimed walking over to the table with a plate full of stacked food. She began walking around, setting one on each person's plate.

Rayla cut hers nervously, sniffing it before taking a reluctant bite. "Mmm. I have to admit, these are good."

"Yeah," Trezac nodded in agreement.

"Impossibly fluffy right?" Claudia smiled.

"How do you get them so light?" Ellis inquired between inhaling bites of her breakfast.

"The secret is separating the eggs, and beating the whites into a stiff meringue, and just a hint of dark magic," she smiled winking at her brother.

Callum, Rayla, Ezran, and Trezac froze between their various stages of bites. Glancing at each other Rayla and Ezran set their forks down while their companions hurriedly wolfed down their last bite before pushing the plates away.

"Well, now that we know you're not kidnapped, you guys should come back home," Claudia continued. "With the egg of course."

"Egg? Eggs would go great with these pancakes," Soren grinned as his sister facepalmed.

"Actually, there is no egg," Callum replied.

Claudia leapt to her feet, and shot of fear and rage going through her. "What happened to it?!"

Trezac raised a brow as Ezran ran off, "Gee what do you think?"

"YOU BROKE IT?!"

"No," Ezran replied walking back over and holding up the baby dragon. "Meet Zym!"

Claudia screamed, "IT'S SO CUTE! IT'S A BABY DWAGON!"

As Claudia appoached the hatching, Rayla stepped between them, crossing her arms. "Whoa! What happened to the '_It's not an egg, it's a powerful weapon_'?" she reminded.

"Oh, still true," Claudia answered. "Someday it could bring death and destruction reigning down on all of us. But right now, he's so widdle!"

"Well get a good look because we're heading back to Xadia to return him to his mother," Rayla replied swatting the dark mage's hand away from the hatchling.

"Rayla's right," Callum spoke up. "We can't go home yet. This mission is too important."

"They're right," Trezac agreed. "This is the best way to end the war. Don't you want peace?"

"Of course—"

"Then we have to do this. Getting Zym home is our best chance at ending this war."

"You all do need to come home," Soren said. "Because the King, you dad, really misses you. And TRezac, your big sis, she's back at the palace waiting for us."

"My what?"

"Your sis, she's really worried about you," he repeated.

"I don't have a sister—that I know of I mean my parents could've had another kid after I was taken into the order—but an older sibling? I never had one!" he growled crossing his arms. "I'm guessing she came with the inquisitor I eliminated last night."

"Twelve…you…eliminated him?" Claudia spoke slowly, her eyes going wide.

"He was a user of the Dark Side, sent by a traitor to kill me and enslave everyone here! Of course I got rid of him!" he snapped.

"Trezac, it just had to be a misunderstanding," Claudia chuckled nervously.

"Believe me, it wasn't," he growled.

-.-

"Wow, did you see that intense look I got from the elf? I think she's into me," Soren smirked as Claudia closed the door.

"She's not _into_ you, she's _onto_ you!" the black-haired woman snapped. "Soren, their dad is dead amd you just lied about it! And they're our friends it's wrong!"

"You squash innocent creatures to make magic pancakes!" her brother scoffed. "Look I tried it your way: using words. Maybe it's time for my way: punching and stuff?"

"Uh, did you not hear Trezac? He _killed_ Twelve!" Claudia reminded.

"Good! I didn't like that guy anyways!" he exclaimed standing up. "Twelve was creepy! He was psychotic, and he knew nothing about the honor of a fair fight! At least it looks like from last night Trezac won that fight fair-and-square! He deserved what he got!"

"How could you say that? Twelve was our friend?"

"Friends don't stalk friends and appear when it's convenient for them Claudia."

"Ugh! Whatever! Just give me one more day to convince Callum to leave with us and get Trezac to calm down," she pleaded. "I'm sure he was just overreacting. I'm gonna rely on something stronger than muscles!"

"Magic muscles?"

"No, their trust."

-.-

"We can't trust them," Rayla said crossing her arms.

"Look, I get it. You don't like Caludia, she tried to kill you multiple times. But remember, until today she thought you were trying to hurt me, Ezran and 'Zac."

"That's not it Callum! I know they're lying!" she sighed sitting next to the prince.

"How can they not be?!" Trezac exclaimed pacing the room. "They sided with an Inquisitor! People who won't hesitate to come here and take over this planet and, if necessary, burn everything to the ground to get their way!"

"They could just be being manipulated," Callum tried.

"No, I'm with Trezac," Rayla said. "You didn't see the one we fought last night. He was ready to commit murder in cold blood and they did nothing to stop him. And you didn't hear the way he spoke to Trezac last night…" she trailed off shivering at the unnatural gleam in the man's eye. "He was evil, I'm sure of it."

"And given what Viren tried to pull back in the Castle, I'm not surprised he sided with them."

"And what Soren said," Rayla nodded. "He was lying. I know cause…cause well—"

A knock came from the door, cutting the elf off as it opened to reveal Claudia. "Knock, knock. Hey Callum. Got a minute?"

"Sure," he smiled jogging off.

"I don't trust them," Rayla said crossing her arms.

"I don't either. Especially not Claudia," Trezac growled.

"We need to keep an eye on them."

Nodding, the pair got up and walked towards the door. "Oh Ancients," Trezac muttered.

"What?" Rayla groaned looking in the direction he pointed she smacked her forehead. Soren stood by Ezran and Zym helping them onto a zipline over a ravine. Sharing a look, the pair went down to make sure he didn't do anything stupid. "What'cha thinking about?"

Soren jumped as the two appeared.

"Nothing! What you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking, after you," Rayla said tapping him with her sword. "Go ahead. Unless you don't think it's safe?"

Soren crossed his arms. "No, he scoffed. "It's perfectly safe. Let me just double-check this peg." Scampering over, he began hammering it into the tree with his sword till he was certain it wouldn't move. "Ah yeah safe, so safe. He put his scabbard over the top of the rope and grabbed on, leaping off and sliding down. Looking back Soren gulped as the elf lifted her sword tugging on the rope, causing him to balance. Reaching the other side, Soren squinted. He could make out Trezac and the elf studying the peg. The padawan stepped back and Soren grimaced as he saw him do one of his magic moves, undoubtedly shoving the peg further into the tree.

"So much for that plan," he muttered.

At the other side, Rayla and Trezac looked at each other. "I'll warn Callum."

"I'll watch the kids."

-.-

"How'd it go?" Trezac asked as Rayla came back over.

"Not well. Soren and Claudia?"

"Back in their hut," he replied. "And the younglings are getting ready for bed, so we shouldn't have to worry about them trying anything now."

"Good. I should talk to Lujanne, she may have something we could use."

Sighing, Trezac got to his feet. "I'll come too, I've been wanting to check out the temple."

He followed Rayla up the mountain towards the temple. Stepping inside they closed the door behind them and approached the mediating woman.

"Lujanne, I need your help," Rayla spoke up.

"If wisdom is what you seek, I shall do my best to fake it," the woman replied turning around. "It's an old illusionist joke."

"Right, I need my friend to trust me, but he doesn't," she started, "and I think it's my fault. I've been keeping a secret from him hiding, the truth."

"Rayla, look at the moon," Lujanne motioned up, "Light only falls on half its face right now, but that doesn't mean the other half isn't there. And it is the same with you, there are parts that you keep hidden."

"If I want him to trust me, don't I have to stop hiding the truth?"

"Real trust is about accepting even the dark parts we will never know," Lujanne replied.

"But it comes with a risk of pain," Trezac said looking up at the sky. "Even if what you try to do is what you believe to protect them, it could destroy them in the end."

"So, strong relationships need honesty, the full truth," Rayla nodded giving her friend a small smile.

"Now you two sound like my first three husbands," Lujanne laughed.

"I don't want to hurt him, but I owe him the truth. I can't leave Callum in the dark any longer," Rayla said.

"It's about Harrow isn't it?" Trezac asked. "He's dead."

"How…?"

"The ribbon; you said it would only come off if Ezran died. And you came to kill two people, Ezran, and the king. You only had one left, so Harrow died," he stated.

"Thanks, you were helpful," she scowled and pointed to Lujanne, "you were not!"

"Was I? Or was what I said just differently true?"

"You go on," Trezac said.

"You're not coming?"

"I…I need some time to myself."

Rayla nodded, leaving the temple.

Trezac sighed walking away from Lujanne and sitting by the natural pond in the temple. With everything going on, he just needed some time to meditate.

-.-

Viren uncorked a bottle, "This true-sight serum will strip away all illusions, and allow me to see you for what you really are." Lifting the black vile, Eleven watched interestedly as he began to chant. "Sduorhs fo ssenkrad, I raet eht yawa. Laever flesruoy ot em sa fi eht thgil fo yad."

The concoction in his hand bubbled and slowly, Viren raised it to his face, carefully pulling back his eyelids and depositing a drop in them. The man gave a cry as violet smoke poured from his eyes. Dropping the vial, Eleven used the force to bring it to her. Look it at the liquid, she frowned as she could no longer see it bubbling.

"Perhaps it's one use per person?" she murmured. Glancing at Viren, the man continued to writhe in agony. Good, then he wouldn't notice this. "Sduorhs fo ssenkrad, I raet eht yawa. Laever flesruoy ot em sa fi eht thgil fo yad."

As the black solution began to bubble, a wicked grin crossed her face. Raising two drops from the vial, she set them in her eyes. Yes, it hurt, but it was nothing a simple exhale could not fix. Vader's lessons had been much harsher than this. And she refused to be weaker than one of a backwater world.

"Nothing? Nothing. Nothing!" Viren snapped. "Oh, you're powerless, useless! I thougt you were going to be something special! Something important!" The man glared at the mirror before screaming in rage. Swatting the candles aside, Eleven could only smile as she watched the small cell begin to burn with his anger.

However, as quickly as it came, it vanished. The mage stood tall, waving his hand and the flames died. It was then Eleven focused on the mirror, which was now glowing.

"What…what is this place?"

"Somewhere, that clearly hates the light," Eleven smirked.


	19. Secrets

Chapter 19

**A/N: Hey guys! Welcome back to the story! Good to see y'all agin! Remember, I'm just the writer Gabeherdon308 owns the OCs and story idea.**

_"Fascinating…You can't hide from me forever…enemies are closer than you think."_

Trezac gasped, shutting out the various voices he heard rippling in the force as a new disturbance came. Panting, he rested his hands on his knees, shivering at the wave of darkness. Something happened, something bad.

Standing up, he looked around. Everything was just as peaceful as before. The Moon Mage was mediating in her spot, the Moon Moths were fluttering around quietly, overall it was almost as tranquil as the Temple.

Trezac took a breath, trying to calm himself down. Panic was something he could not afford, he needed to keep a clear head. Closing his eyes, he reached out again, and through the magic he picked up various emotions; sorrow, rage, pain. With a frown, he focused in on them, raising his brows as he detected it not far. Whoever was experiencing these things, they were on the Nexus.

Sighing, he strode out of the massive library, moving down the mountain towards the others. Down in the clearing, he could see Rayla approaching Claudia. Well, this couldn't be good.

However, instead of arguing like he expected, they merely stomped past one another. He looked at Claudia, frowning as he saw sadness written clearly on the dark mage's face. Green eyes then flickered to Rayla, and anger was plain as day.

How is it he was gone for like five minutes and something happened?

Whatever, they weren't fighting, he would take it. Right now, he just wanted to go to bed, and get a few hours of peace and quiet before everything went to shit again.

-.-

Unfortunately, sleep did not happen. Trezac sprawled on his bed glaring at the ceiling as light began to stream in from the rising sun. Whoever kept causing these disturbances in the force throughout the entire night, he was going to kill them. It may not be the Jedi way, but screw it, he was tired, the Jedi were basically gone, what did it matter for anymore?

"Callum?" Ezran yawned as he sat up in bed.

"Morning Ez," Callum spoke solemnly.

His tone made Trezac, reluctantly, sit up. Looking across the room, he saw Callum sitting on the floor, dry tear tracks on his face. The image from last night came back to him, Rayla and Claudia, ignoring each other, the emotions he felt last night…Callum…Callum had found out about his father, hadn't he?

Ezran, meanwhile, remained oblivious to his brother's plight. "I had a weird dream again," he started rubbing his eyes. "I was running from that giant hippo, the one made of taffy. Remember?"

"Uh…I think so?"

"Only this time, there was someone riding on his back," Ez continued, "it was the baker—the one who didn't like me."

"He'd like you if you stopped stealing his jelly tarts," Callum deadpanned.

"He said I was wanted for crimes against dessert. And to make the hippo chase me, the baker told him I was jelly filled!" the boy exclaimed grabbing his brother's collar, shaking him, "I was a pastry fugitive Callum! It was terrible! And that's not even the worst part! He was right, I was delicious."

Oh by the freaking ancients it was too freaking early for this.

Yanking the covers over his head, Trezac prayed to at least get a little sleep.

However, Zym had other plans as he jumped right onto Trezac's gut. Jumping off, Agir landed in the same spot three seconds later as he chased the dragonling.

-.-

"Are you ok?" Rayla asked as Trezac slid into the bench across from her. He looked like death warmed over.

"No," he groaned resting his head on his arms. "I didn't get any sleep last night."

"Ah."

Hearing footsteps, they both looked to see Callum walking over. With a sigh, the other boy sat down. "I couldn't do it."

"Do what?"

"I couldn't tell him," Callum continued, not paying mind to Trezac's muffled question.

"Oh, that," the padawan realized.

Rayla bit her lip. Emotions weren't really her thing, frankly, it seemed like another thing the human mage could do better than her. But, right now…he wasn't going to be any help. "Callum," she spoke gently.

"And I understand why you couldn't tell me," the elder brother added looking at her. "When you care about someone it's hard to hurt them. Even when what you're telling them is the truth."

"I still should've told you. You had the right to know," Rayla sighed.

"I think maybe I did know," Callum confessed. "Deep down, you know? I just hoped that if I didn't think about it maybe somehow it wouldn't be true. But he's gone," he choked on a sob, "he's really gone."

-.-

"When Soren said Dad wanted us home you knew he was lying," Callum said as the trio strode down the steps.

"Yeah."

"Wasn't it obvious?" Trezac yawned.

"Maybe he was trying to protect our feelings?' Callum suggested.

Trezac raised a brow. "Really?"

"Ok, probably not," Callum conceded.

"We can't stay here any longer," Rayla nodded, "We have to leave, now. Get as far away from them as we can before they realize we're gone."

"Whoa, wait, but they're still our friends," Callum protested.

"But they lied to you," Rayla reminded.

"Soren lied to me, Claudia told me the truth."

"And Claudia is a dark mage who sucks the life out of other living things," Trezac deadpanned. "I don't trust her."

"What? Trezac, back at the Castle you two were such great friends, and now you wanna leave?"

"Leave?" a familiar voice asked and the jedi and elf looked at each other then back towards the brother and sister as they approached.

"Yeah, we're leaving today," Trezac stated crossing his arms. "We have to get Zym back to his mother, it could end the war. So no, we're not going home with you."

"Oh…"

"You sure?" Soren started. "Cause your dad is—"

"We know he's dead Soren, stop being an ass," Trezac snapped, silencing the infernal idiot.

"Well, Callum, there's something I want to give you, in private," Claudia chuckled nervously, breaking the tense silence.

"Oh, uh sure," Callum smiled following after the mage leaving Rayla and Trezac alone with Soren. "Be right back!"

-.-

"Come on Zym! You love it in there as an egg!" Ezran called chasing the dragon hatchling around the room, trying and failing to get him to go in the bag.

"Cause he was an egg," Trezac reminded. "Eggs can't exactly decide for themselves." Bait gave a grunt, climbing into the bag, "See, Bait wants to ride."

"You two aren't helping!"

As Trezac gave a shrug, the door opened and Callum walked in. "Let me guess," Rayla began, "the moment we left she tried to manipulate you and convince you to go home again."

"No she didn't," Callum smirked picking up his bag. "If fact, Claudia understands the importance of getting Zym back to Xadia."

"Oh…that's surprising, but good."

Callm nodded a wide smile crossing his face. "In fact she understands it so well that she and Soren want to come with us!"

"What?!" the elf exclaimed springing to her feet. "That's the worst possible plan!"

"How? They're offering to help?"

"Or it's a trap," Trezac spoke up. "I've had plenty of so called _allies_ turn into enemies on me."

"Trezac's right," Rayla agreed. "If we take them with us, without knowing their motives, by the time we find out the truth, it could be too late. We'd lose everything."

Taking their words into consideration, Callum sighed. As much as he hated to say it, they might have a point. "So then, what do we do? How can we figure out if it's help or a trap?"

Trezac grinned, "I've already got a plan."

**A/N: hey guys, sorry the chapter's so short, but this chapter really did not feel like cooperating to write itself. Anyways, hope y'all enjoyed it and I'll see y'all next time.**


	20. Lies

Chapter 20

**A/N: Hey everyone, welcome back! Good to see y'all here and thanks for being patient with me. Now, Gabeherdon308 owns the OCs and I don't own TDP, I'm just the writer.**

"Where are Callum and Ezran?" Claudia asked as Rayla and Trezac joined them.

"They'll be along soon, Ezran's just packing up the dragon," Rayla replied.

"It's been a pleasure to have you all here," Lujanne mused, "I truly have enjoyed you all sneaking past my defenses and desecrating this sacred place these past few days."

"Then maybe your defenses should've been better," Trezac muttered. "It doesn't take much to realize it's magic."

Lujanne glared at him before putting a smile to her face again, "It will be lonely, quiet, but lonely without you."

"I'll miss you so much!" Ellis exclaimed running forwards and hugging the mage's legs.

"Ellis, you will always be welcome here," the moon mage reassured, patting her head. Eva barked, causing her to chuckle as she rubbed behind the wolf's ears. "And you two little one," she pulled out the collar, fastening back to the wolf's neck, "I doubt you need the illusion anymore, but at least you can have this as a reminder that someone's always watching out for you."

Trezac turned, watching Callum and Ezran emerge, "We should get moving."

"Yay, time to go to the magical land and do whatever," Soren drawled as he got up and stretched.

Leading the way down the path, Trezac glanced behind him, noticing Claudia and Soren falling behind. "Rayla," he spoke quietly motioning with his head to the talking siblings.

"You they'll try to pull somethin'?"

"Definitely," he nodded. "I can handle Claudia. You got Soren?"

Rayla smirked, "I've been looking forward to getting some payback." She came to a stop, turning back to face them "It's going to be a long journey, let me just go around this bush-corner and see if I can find some berries or something."

"How about I help," Soren offered following after.

As they left, Trezac leaned against a tree, tilting his head low so Claudia couldn't see him watching through his bangs. The sorceress looked nervous. Biting her lip, she raised her arm into the air, eyes beginning to glow violet. "Nrut ym stelecarb otni stnepres. Erutpac eht secnirp dna eht idej. Nrut otni sniahc."

The bracelets on her wrist came to life, and two glowing snakes fell to the ground. Hissing, the two serpents slithered towards Trezac and the princes. Pulling out his lightsabers, Trezac swung, decapitating one, and hurling his second blade through the other, slicing it in half. Without missing a beat, he used the force to summon the thrown blade back to his hand and he landed in front of Claudia, holding the two glowing sabers to her chest. "If you were going to try to betray us, you should've at least been convincing about joining us."

"Trezac, I know this feels like a betrayal. But I have to do what is right, I have to take you back home."

"What's right?!" he growled. "You're talking about doing what's right? You were trying to keep a baby from it's mother! You were trying to keep a war going, knowing countless lives would be lost even though we found a way to end it! You take the lives of innocent creatures for your own power! You sided with inquisitors! So no, you don't get to lecture about what's right Claudia, cause it's clear, you don't know what that is. Ellis! Do it!"

The girl grinned, turning her wolf around and pulling the collar off. "Moonstone collar trick."

The collar began to glow, and green streams of magic swirled back into the stone. At the same time, the princes and Zym vanished in a similar fashion. "They're illusions!"

"Wait!" Soren called from below. "They're not real?"

"That's what illusions mean Soren!"

The knight growled, glaring at Ellis. "What did you do to them?!" Chraging forwards, he raised his sword before something latched onto his arm. Next thing he knew, Soren was trying to keep his arm from being burned off. Shaking the limb, he managed to get the firefox off, holding the wounded arm close.

With a proud bark, Agir ran up the slope, leaping into Trezac's bag as Ellis made her escape. A strong force-push shoved Claudia back, spilling the contents of her bag on the ground. Taking his chance, Trezac leapt into the trees after Rayla, climbing up the same branch. Light flashed in the sky, and the pair grinned as Phoe-Phoe flew down, the cheering princes on her back. The moon phoenix swooped over, using her talons to pick the pair up before flying higher into the air, allowing them to climb up onto her back with the others.

"Claudia! They're getting away!"

The sorceress, stumbled to her feet, looking around and picking up one of her fallen trinkets. "No, they aren't," she growled. "Mrof siht nroh fo a s'nekcark tsaerb, I nommus eht htarw fo eht tsaeb ti edssessop!" Violet-red fire emerged all around her as flames crawled on her arms. Sending the magic out, flame turned into what appeared to be a violet and yellow tentacle, which wrapped around the phoenix and its riders, dragging them back towards the ground.

"Claudia! Please! Don't do this!" Callum pleaded.

"Callum," Trezac growled, "She's not going to listen to you!" Thrusting out a hand, Claudia slid back up the mountain, gritting her teeth trying to pull them in as Trezac kept using the force to try to get them away. It was clear, Soren and Claudia were not their allies; they needed to get away from them, as soon as possible.

On the ground, another figure appeared, throwing out a chain. It wrapped around Claudia's wrist, and the new man pulled the mage back, causing her to drop the source of her magic, ending the spell. "What're you doing?!"

"Defending them for you!" the newcomer exclaimed as Soren came up behind him.

Phoe-Phoe flew away, taking them away from the Nexus and their former friends. "You were right," Callum sighed.

"I wish we weren't," Rayla apologized. But you needed to know the truth."

-.-

"Anything?" Eleven drawled as she slammed the door to the dungeon open. Where Viren sat in the same spot he'd been in for hours looking at the mirror.

"Not much, though, I have discovered that the mirror is just that on their side, a mirror. They can't see us."

Eleven growled, rubbing her eyes. "Then, how are we supposed to take advantage of this?!"

"I don't know, not yet at least," he sighed sitting back down in the chair, looking at the mirror intensely.

Following his gaze, Eleven raised a brow. So far, all this elf was doing was going in and out of wherever that was and reading the books. He set down another book on the desk, swinging his hand out and the fire went out. That made her brow rise a bit; a mage, perhaps observing him wouldn't be a total waste. He came to a stop, looking at the mirror. Tilting his head, the elven mage waved his hand again and the fire went out, plunging him into darkness.

Eleven couldn't help but grin as a pale, four-fingered hand emerged and pressed against the glass. Perhaps Viren was wrong about his initial observation. If that was the case, then this little thing would be _very_ useful to her and her master's cause.


	21. Change in Tides

Chapter 21

**A/N: hey everyone, good to see y'all again. Welcome back, sorry for the wait, my muse decided to fly the coop for a little bit on this one. Another note, this chapter is a little shot cause lately when I've been updating stories the site comepletely changes the format and i have to go back into the doc and edit out all the code stuff it added. Weird? Yes. Annoying? Extremely.**

**Anyways, this story and it's OCs belongs to Gabeherdon308, I'm just the writer.**

Trezac's brows furrowed as he felt hair slapping into his face. Opening his eyes, he sat up, sputtering as he got a mouthful of white hair. "Mornin' Trezac," Rayla said pulling her hair out of his face.

He gave her a nod, a large yawn escaped him and he wanted to go back to sleep. But, unfortunately, the person he'd been sleeping on, on this bird was awake meaning he couldn't sleep anymore.

"The elf peered around him raising a brow. "Uh? What're you doin'?"

"Mediating upon the meaning of sky," Callum answered.

"Ugh, that's more boring than any answer I would've guessed," she grumbled.

"I'm trying to connect to the arcanum, like Lujanne said, so I can use sky magic again."

"Callum, that's not how mediating works," Trezac murmured rubbing his eyes through another yawn.

"Oh, then what do you mediate about oh wise one?" Callum grumbled.

"For my people, mediation is a means of focus," he replied. "We use it to strengthen our connection to the Force and use it to gain peace of mind."

"So…you don't focus on the meaning of things?" Callum asked.

"We focus on our emotions," Trezac deadpanned, "to keep them under control."

"Besides, didn't Lujanne also say you have to born with an acarno-what's it to do magic?" Rayla chimed in.

"No, she said you had to connect to the Primal and magical creatures are born with that connection," Callum corrected. "I don't see how I can make my own connection; I mean, Trezac can us magic, but he's not an elf or a magical creature."

"Still not magic," he mumbled.

"And Lujanne also called him a Star-Walker," Rayla countered Callum.

"Cause I'm not from Xadia," Trezac repeated for what felt like the hundredth time.

"Um, is it just me, or are we losing altitude?" Rayla asked seeming to ignore Trezac's remarks. Not that it was unusual when he tried to defend himself in regards to his orgins.

"What? No way," Callum hummed, "I'm extremely attuned to slight changes in the air flow—AH!" His scream started Trezac fully awake as Phoe-Phoe lurched under them waking Ezran.

They were falling, from the sky, to the ground. This was bad.

All of the phoenix's passengers screamed as the massive bird descended to the ground, skimming over some water and crashing into the ground. The impact sent Erzan and Zym over the egde of a cliff they crashed beside, causing Rayla to leap out and grab both.

With a sigh of relief, she grinned pulling them up. "Ah, it's nice to have both hands again," she mused. And it was nice being the hero for a change too, for once.

-.-

General Amaya frowned as she gazed through her telescope. The smoke from the molten lava made it hard to see. Which made determining the other outpost's secrecy harder to determine. They'd been quiet for some time. What if something happened? Lowering them, she began signing to her lieutenant.

"General Amaya, we've searched everywhere and there's been no sign of the elves," he answered. "I think it's safe to conclude that the outpost on the Xadian side remains secret." Loud hisses came from the magma and the lieutenant smiled pointing, "There look. The signal. The outpost is secure."

Picking up her telescope, she raised it again looking at it. Something wasn't right. Setting it down, she signaled again.

"Yes General, I'll ready a party," the man bowed and ran off.

Turning back to the breach she glared out at it, if the elves wanted a fight. They would get one.

Picking up her scope again, she looked towards the outpost trying to see if she could spot any intruders. Only for a flash in the sky to catch her attention. She turned her scope, looking up towards the dark clouds, through them, she could see light. If it were lightning, it would've faded by now, and there hadn't been any dragons on the border since Thunder.

Her brows furrowed as she watched. Something came through the clouds, it wasn't a dragon. But she hadn't seen anything like it before, it appeared to be metal and had fire coming from its belly, slowing its descent to the ground. They would need to investigate this on their mission to the outpost. They needed to make sure Xadia didn't have any new weapons to use against them.

Or to make sure Viren's "friends" didn't have a hand in whatever was going on.

-.-

Eleven stood with Viren looking at the mage in the mirror. "Who are you?" Viren inquired.

The sparkly man tilted his head, nodding towards the mage's staff. Eleven glanced at it, raising a brow. It mostly was unassuming, just a walking stick, but she had seen what Viren had done with it…perhaps she could take it for herself?

At the right time of course. Right now, she just needed to watch and wait.

The elf walked away, grabbing something before coming back, a box in hand. He set it down on a table in front of the mirror and opened it, pulling out a rock, a archaic mixer-thing, a cloth, a goblet, and…a knife. Oh, whatever this was she liked it.

"You want me to find these items?" Viren asked rubbing his beard.

"We'd be more than happy to," Eleven chimed in giving the mage by her side a glare. She admired his ambition for power. But if anyone was going to become more powerful around here, it was her.

-.-

"Phoe-Phoe's ok," Ezran informed patting the phoenix's beak, "she's just tired. She gets her power from the Moon Nexus. The further away we go, the harder it is to carry everyone."

"Wow Ez, I can't believe you can understand all that," Callum admired, causing his younger brother to grin as he continued to pet the bird.

"You did such a good job getting us this far, thank you." Phoe-Phoe gave a soft coo, nudging the boy with her head before turning around and taking off, likely flying home. Ezran turned, looking at the older three, "So…what do we do now?"

"Get to Xadia," Trezac deadpanned.

Rayla grimaced, turning to the cliff. "Well…one problem, Xadia's that way," she pointed across the vast expanse of water before them, "across mile and miles of fluid I both need to survive and hate more than anything in the world."

"Lovely."

"We can walk around it," Callum offered.

"No, that's sweet," Rayla blushed, "but walkin's gonna to take too long. We need to get that former egg, now adorable baby dragon back to Xadia as soon as possible. We've got to go straight across."

"Guess we'll need to find a ship then," Trezac stated. "Cause, even if I still had mine, it wouldn't fit all of us. And we won't be crossing that," he pointed at the sea, "in a canoe."

-.-

"Once in town, the group crouched behind some crates near the docks looking at the ships. "Well, we need a boat," Ezran stated, "and a Captain who knows how to make it go."

"Right, specifically a Captain who doesn't hate elves," Callum added.

Rayla scoffed, "That won't be a problem. I can just disguise myself as a human again." She leapt up, snatching her cloak from Ezran's bag and pulling it on with a wide grin, "Hello again, fellow humans, human fellows."/p

"Oh, oh, you're gonna love this Zym!" Ezran exclaimed.

"Let's go judge and criticize things other humans do, and then do the exact same thing ourselves."

"Do another!" Ezran laughed.

"Sure thing old buddy, old pal! I'm excited to rapidly eat a plate of unwholesome food in an excessive portion size."

"She's right, I'd eat a jelly tart the size of a dog!"

"Won't it be great to encounter other humans, and talk about which roads and pathways will take us somewhere slightly faster than other roads and pathways?"

"It's true! We do like going slightly faster!"

"Hey, sometimes getting somewhere slightly faster is important," Callum interrupted.

"Yeah, and besides, we know how well Human Rayla went last time," Trezac reminded.

"You can just do your mind trick thingy again," Rayla shrugged.

Trezac looked at her raising a brow. "…Who are you and what've you done with Rayla?!"

The elf scowled and punched him in the arm. "I'm serious. I may not like it, but at least it gets us out of trouble when humans find out I'm and elf."

"Ezran and I will find a Sea Captain," Callum said standing up. "Rayla, you stay here and work on growing fifth finger—"

"You got it my smooth-skulled friend!"

"Trezac, keep an eye on them," Callum sighed.

"Will do."


	22. Troubled Waters

Chapter 22

**A/N: Hello, I'm back. Good to see y'all again. Remember, Trezac belongs to Gabeherdon308, and I'm just the story writer for his idea. And neither of us owns the Dragon Prince.**

"We found the perfect Captain!" Ezran exclaimed running over and pulling Zym into his bag as his brother grabbed Rayla and yanked her to her feet.

Coming out of their hiding spot, Rayla pulled the hood of the cloak lower over her head. "Oh don't worry," Callum waved, "that's not gonna be a problem with this guy."

"What is he some kind of enlightened human who can see the good in elves?" Rayla deadpanned.

"I'm not sure he can see the good in anyone really," Callum considered. "But that's what makes him so uniquely qualified. We're back!"

A man at the end of the dock slowly began to turn around, Trezac raised a brow as he noticed the eyepatch over his eye. Were the boys just planning on having Rayla stick to his blind spot the entire trip? The man turned to face them and Trezac's jaw dropped. There was an eyepatch on his other eye. The man had two eyepatches for two eyes. This man, who would be commanding the ship they would be in could not see karabast!

"Greetings!" the Captain grinned. "The name's Captain Villads, the D is silent."

"There's a D?" Rayla asked.

"Arr!"

"Wait, there's a silent R?"

"Narr!"

"Oh, so it's just a silent D then?"

"Aye!"

"Ah, so there's a—"

Callum cleared his throat, cutting off the ongoing conversation of confusion. "These are our regular human friends Rayla and Trezac."

"Spelled like it sounds," Rayla smiled.

"And their cute, unusual dogs, Zym, Agir, and Bait."

"Ahoy, Rayla. Ahoy, Trezac. Ahoy, doggos!" Captain Villads waved in their general direction. "This is my first mate, Berto!"

"I'm a parrot!" the bird on his shoulder squawked.

"The bird talked," Trezac whispered in shock. Since when could birds talk?!

"Me ship's this way!" Villads jumped, walking through the group of teens. "Welcome to me water home, The Ruthless!" They looked at the ship he waved to and Trezac and Rayla shared a look. How on Xadia, could a blind man, control a ship that big alone?! "Named after me dear wife, Ruth, who sadly," he sniffed, "don't enjoy sailing."

"So you said if the wind's on our side we could make it across the bay pretty quickly?" Callum inquired.

"Aye! Course, there's a storm comin'."

"A storm? That could be interesting."

"So we have to delay departing for a few days."

"Uh, we're on a tight schedule," Rayla spoke up. "Isn't there anything we can do?"

"Hmm, I suppose if we leave right now, we could race across the bay and beat the storm."

"Yes, let's do that."

"No problem! Unless the storm catches us mid-bay and kills us all!" Villads laughed.

Trezac exhaled, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "I'm gonna die, surrounded by the biggest idiots in the galaxy."

-.-

Ezran leaned over the railing with Zym, Agir and Bait as the ship cut through the waves, cheering as dolphins leapt up from the water, spraying sea foam up towards them. On the upper deck, Trezac sat with Callum, making sure none of them fell in as Captain Villads pulled on various ropes.

"Ya might be wonderin' what happened to me eyes?" the sailor spoke as he took the wheel again.

"Well, I didn't want to be rude," Callum said.

Villads didn't seem to mind, in fact, he seemed more than happy to tell them. "Me left eye was taken by a flock of mutinous seagulls."

"Wow," Callum remarked. "And what about your right eye?"

The Captain gave a nonchalant shrug, "Don't know, came at me from me left."

Nearby, a seagull squawked and Trezac raised a brow as Callum flinched. Was he seriously scared of birds now? With a nervous smile, the other boy gut up, looking over the ship. "Wait, how is it we're going that way when the wind's blowing that way?"

"Oh, that's how you sail, me boy," the blind man laughed.

"How?" Trezac spoke up, feeling intrigued by the less advanced method to transport. "It's not like this thing has engines."

"I don't know what those are," Villads cocked his head. "But we got sails! The sail is more like a wing, flying through the wind, pulling the boat against the water currents below us. It's like shooting a willow-melon seed between your fingers! Ya squeeze it on both sides, but the seed shoots straight out," he explained firing a seed and hitting Callum between the eyes.

"I think I get it," Callum said feeding Berto the seed.

A wave came by and newly knocked them off their feet; Villads quickly corrected the ship, losing his hat in the process, but Berto got it back. "When you're in the elements long enough, ya get a feel for where the wind is and how it's about to change. It's like a connection, deep in me bones."

This, unsurprisingly, got Callum's attention. "Hold on, you feel a connection to the wind? How did you get that?"

"What? Just because I'm blind and have narcolepsy you thought I wouldn't have sailing sense?!"

"No, no, no! that's not what I meant!"

"What's narcolepsy?" Trezac asked suddenly feeling very worried.

"Narcolepsy?" Callum realized.

Both heads snapped back to the Captain and saw him sleeping at the wheel. Berto, was pecking his companion's ear, repeating, "Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up."

Villads starled awake, swatting at the bird as his head wildly swung around. "What happened? The last thing I remember was talking about narcolepsy then falling asleep!"

"That's about right," Callum nodded.

"Wait, Narcolepsy causes people to just fall asleep?!" Trezac exclaimed.

"Yep!"

"The padawan gaped as he tried to process the information. He was on a non-flying ship, with no engine, that relied on the sheer luck that the weather wouldn't turn on them, with a blind Captain who could fall asleep behind the wheel at any moment while they were literally in the middle of nowhere. Turning away, he ran his fingers through his hair before his gaze landed on a dark shadow looming closer over the horizon, and he could feel some wet droplets landing on him.

"Storm's a comin'. "Seems that we won't beat it after all!" the Captain cackled.

"Great," Trezac muttered under his breath. "We're doomed. We're all gonna die."

"Ya got that right," Berto confirmed.

Hey, don't be so negative," Callum said. "This could be a chance to learn."

Berto squawked unbelievingly, "To learn how to drown!"

-.-

Viren and Eleven set the supplies down on the table in front of the mirror, turning, the elf on the other side picked up the cloth and began sewing a symbol into it. Following the pattern, Viren lifted the cloth, a frown on his face, "I've never seen this rune before."

On the other side, the elf moved his hands, glowing symbols coming to life as he did so. The symbols on the three pieces of cloth flashed. The rock he had then levitated under the cloth, being wrapped around it for a brief moment before it unwound, revealing two separate halves.

Smirking to herself, Eleven used the force to keep the cloth floating in the air before moving the rock. Closing her eyes, she visualized what she wanted to do. It had to be like putting together a lightsaber, she needed to visualize what would happen. The rock went into the cloth and it was wrapped up, through this, she sent a fierce shove through the force, willing the rock to cleave in two. The cloth fell away and the two separate pieces fell into her hands while Viren had to break his by hand.

Turning back to the mirror, she saw the elf put on half down and picking up the primitive grinder, quickly crushing the insides of the geode before pouring the contents into the chalice.

Following his lead, Eleven raised a brow as the water turned purple and strange smoke began to emanate from it. "Interesting."

Viren, on the other hand, scoffed, "You expect us to drink this?"

"Don't be a coward," Eleven sneered, "it's unbecoming of a future king." Raising the glass to her lips, she watched out of the corner of her eye as Viren followed her lead. Ancients, he was so easy to manipulate.

"Surprisingly, not terrible," he gulped setting the chalice down.

The elf picked up a knife, holding the blade over his hand and held them both above the chalice.

Eleven was eager to follow to uncover what secrets this being could reveal, but it appeared Viren, was not as…willing as she'd been expecting. "Why should we trust you? I don't even know who—I don't even know what you are."

The elf held up his hand expectantly.

Viren scoffed, "I need time to think." Stabbing his knife into the table he stormed out of the room.

Eleven rolled her eyes, and quietly closed the door as he left. He wouldn't miss her for a few minutes. Stepping back to the mirror, she picked up the knife a malicious grin breaking out across her face, "Unlike him, I know what it takes to get what I want," she held the knife above her palm, "Now, where were we?"

-.-

Trezac sat with the others at the entrance to below deck as the ship swayed underneath them, making his stomach churn. Whatever this infernal piece of transport was, it did not feel like a ship at all. Ships were smooth, and even though he'd feel his stomach drop at times from the crazy stunts, it was nothing compared to the endless churning this never-ending swaying brought about.

"Is that your Moonshadow form?" he heard Ezran ask.

Looking to his right, he could see Rayla, slumped over just as he was, he cheeks turning different shades. "Nope," she gagged. "This is just my rare glow-toad impersonation."

Bait looked slightly offended at that, but didn't make a sound as Rayla's stomach finally gave up and she leaned over her barrel to puke. Trezac felt himself gag and he gripped his own barrel, feeling queasy. "I never thought I'd miss Master Skywalker's driving," he groaned.

The ship lurched as it turned and he held on tightly to his barrel. He could barely make out Berto yelling something to the Captain. The ship began to spin around wildly and sent the small group tumbling down the staircase. With a final sway that sent them slamming into a wall, the disoriented teens stumbled up the stairs to see Berto sitting on a post over a rope that secured the ship to the dock.

"Nailed it! Squawk!"

"Did he just say the word squawk?" Ezran questioned.

Trezac didn't answer as he ran to the side to lose his lunch.

-.-

The heat of the lava pouring down on the right as it came over the cliff caused sweat to trickle down Amaya's back. As unbearable as the heat was, she needed to find out what had arrived on the other side near the outpost. Especially since hostilities were growing.

It was moments like these she found herself wishing she could hear. This way she could tell if there was any noise of their enemies up ahead. Amaya glanced down at her horse's ears, watching as they twitched every now and then. They were pointed back towards her, looking attentive, but relaxed. Which meant he was listening to the men behind her. Good, that likely meant there was nothing up ahead yet that was causing the stallion concern, yet.

Coming around a bend, they entered the passage to the outpost. The general pulled back on her reigns as she saw a shadow move through the light outlining the doorway. She raised her hand, to signal the men to stop as she dismounted, pulling out her sword and shield. If the elves were already here, they'd be looking for a fight.

Coming around the bend, a shadow began to pass and she swung her blade, stopping in shock as she nearly hit a small child. Whatever it was, it wasn't human, but it wasn't elf either. The child had two long tails coming out of their head instead of hair, and their skin was green. With wide eyes, the child quickly scampered away, no doubt shouting.

It was then, she noticed all the others, some human, some not, others looking like animals, and a fair number of children. All, pointing weapons at her and her men. And the weapons were strange, they were not swords, but nonetheless, she knew these were dangerous.

Movement above caught her attention and she raised her shield cautiously as two more jumped down. Fire came from their backs as they slowly descended towards the ground, moving through the air like a Skywing Elf.

The two figures landed in front of her. now that she had a closer look, she could tell they were humanoid—like all of these strange beings were—but she couldn't tell what. They had helmets covering their faces, but instead of an opening for their faces, there was a black piece of metal covering them.

The larger of the two stepped forwards pointing at them and his hand moved to the strange weapon the others had on his hip. Amaya grimaced, normally she read lips to understand what was going on, but those odd helmets made it impossible to do so.

Feeling a tap on her shoulder, she glanced to the side to see one of the men glancing nervously between her and the strangers. "He said: Who are we? And what are we doing here?"

She nodded, signing back to the poor lad, who merely looked more confused. Clearly this was a newbie, he hadn't had time yet to learn what she was saying. Fortunately, one of his superiors came to his aid. "We are soldiers from Katolis. And this is our outpost. Who are you?"

Seeming to realized what was going on, the figure in front of her removed their helmet, revealing a young, emhuman/em, man with pale skin, black hair, and blue eyes. "I am A'den Bralor, leader of this clan. We are Mandalorians who have arrived on your world in seek of shelter and refuge," he explained watching her warily. "Though, it seems like your horned friends were not to happy to have us here. We had to drive them out."

Amaya scowled looking around as she put her weapons away. These were not enemies, they had humans among them, and there were _children_. Elves, even worse than she thought; going after children, it was sickening. She motioned quickly to her translator. "The _horned ones_ are not our friends. They are our enemies. They have killed my brother-in-law, and kidnapped my nephews. I am sorry you had to deal with them and we apologize for our hostile welcome. We were worried that you were them."

A'den nodded, seeming to understand her reasoning. She watched as one or two of the others came up, no doubt whispering something to him. The man raised his hand towards her, signaling a pause in dialogue as he turned to his clan. No doubt trying to put to rest their concerns.

Amaya didn't blame them one bit, the infernal elves had probably left them shaken. There people were fortunate they were able to drive them off. But it did confirm her suspicions, the outpost had been taken by the elves. It was no longer safe nor secret. There was no telling how long they would stay away.

She began motioning to her translator again, "If I may. We are sorry for our cold welcome and wish to apologize for it. You see, we do not know when the elves will be back, and trust me, they will be back. You have children here, they cannot be put in danger."

A'den turned to her, raising a brow calculatingly as he considered her words. "And what are you proposing?"

"We offer an alliance. Our people would be more than happy to help you, and thank you for your aid in reclaiming this outpost. But your children cannot stay here forever, the elves will come back for revenge! We can offer food, shelter, protection."

The same ones who had spoken to him earlier began motioning again, no doubt discussing amongst themselves about what to do.

"And why should we believe you?"

Amaya smiled holding out a hand, "Because, any enemy of an elf is a friend to me."

A'den looked at her hand for a moment, a frown on his face before he nodded, taking her hand. "Very well."

-.-

"Well, we didn't beat the storm," Villads sighed skipping across the deck. "We'll have to wait it out below deck."

"Hooray, we're wet and miserable and we saved no time at all," Rayla huffed. Looking to her right, she raised a brow as she saw Trezac. "You look like death."

"Thanks," he groaned slowly sitting up, his hair plastered to his forehead.

Rayla winced, feeling a little bad for the mage. If there was anyone who understood what he was going through right now, it was her. "You should get below deck," she said helping him up. "Callum, you coming?"

"What? Yeah I agree."

Rayla frowned, he wasn't listening. Patting Trezac on the back, she gently moved him to the stairs. "You go get some rest, I'll keep watch."

Trezac nodded, stumbling by Ezran andZym. Bait gave a worried whine as he toddled after Agir who trailed by his feet, nuzzling his hand. Finding an empty room, the padawan didn't even bother kicking his boots off as he flopped onto the bed with the firefox and glow-toad climbing up and curling up beside him.

Whatever happened in the next few hours, Rayla or Callum could handle it…hopefully.

**A/N: hey y'all welcome back! Hope y'all enjoyed the chapter! So, the new arrivals! They belong to _Mandalore the Survivor_.**


	23. The Sting of Betrayal

Chapter 23

**A/N: hey everyone! Welcome back! Good to see y'all again and I loved hearing the reviews about the last chapter! So, the Survivors belong to _Mandalore the Survivor_ and Trezac belongs to _Gabeherdon308_.**

"Trezac stumbled on deck, rubbing his eyes as the boat swayed gently under his feet. Looking around, he could see Ezran lying on some crates with Bait and Zym, looking bored, as Rayla heaved over the railing, nearly making his own stomach revolt again. Agir, was probably harassing Callum since he'd been sleeping when the other boy came down.

"Ah, yes, the smell of land," Villads sighed.

This, garnered everyone's immediate attention. "Where?!" Trezac exclaimed whirling around to look up at the Captain.

"Sweet, sweet land!"

"Whoo-hoo!"

"Berto flapped his wings, squawking in annoyance. "Let him finish!"

"The faint, distant smell of land that is."

"There it is," Berto chirped.

Trezac deflated, he'd been hoping they would be closer by this point. He wanted of this karabast cursed ship. "How long?"

"About a full day of sailing ahead until we reach the shore!"

Both elf and padawan gave despondent groans as they leaned against whatever was closest in despair at the thought of another day. Meanwhile, Ezran picked up Zym, "You wanna go count clouds again?"

Zym didn't respond other than a snore.

"Or we could nap," the young prince agreed.

Trezac grimaced as he watched the pair just flop onto the deck and promptly pass out. Seriously, how could anyone fall asleep so fast on this thing? He would be too worried about falling off.

Glancing behind him, the padawan considered going back below deck to rest more. The journey to Xadia was going to be hard and long once they got to shore. He'd need all the strength he could get. But…after sleeping longer than he had in a while, he doubted he could fall asleep again—despite how much he wanted to in order to make time go by faster.

With a sigh, he walked by the synchronized sleepers. Sitting down, he closed his eyes in an attempt to meditate. The Empire was here, the inquisitor was proof of that; he was with Soren and Claudia. Who knows if there were more on the way. If there were soldiers coming to conquer this world, of even if the human lands had already been conquered. Even with their strange powers, Xadia would barely stand a chance; everything they had was just so primitive in comparison.

And that wasn't his only problem, if the inquisitors were coming after him that meant only one thing: _he_ found him. After all the effort Trezac had put into following his master's orders and covering his tracks, he still found him. What did that mean for his master? What about him? He knew his master bad been foolish to go back to that sand-trap; especially if even he was found in uncharted areas of the Outer Rim. And if he was found…

No, now was not the time to worry about those of his past. Jedi rules dictated that attachments were forbidden; he couldn't worry about his master…no matter how much he wanted to miss the man who practically taught him everything he knew.

It was in the past, and that is where he needed to leave it.

Right now, what he needed to do was focus on the task at hand: protecting the people of Xadia and ending this war.

His musings were interrupted by a grunt.

Trezac sighed in defeat, opening his eyes and turning around to see Bait giving Ezran and Zym a pouting look, his wide eyes looking sad. A pang hit him in the gut as he saw his color change to grey, he didn't need the force to know that Bait was feeling lonely. Meeting eyes with the small creature, Trezac tilted his head in his direction and he smiled slightly as the little toad lit up for a moment, happily scampering over into his lap with a small croak.

"Don't worry, Ezran will come around," Trezac reassured gently patting Bait's back. "Right now, Zym's still a baby, he's learning about the world around him. You're still his number one…glow-toad?"

Bait gave a grunt, his chin resting on Trezac's thigh.

"I know it's hard right now," he sighed. "New things are always hard."

Bait gave a croak and Trezac raised a brow, looking down at the little frog-creature. He was looking up at him, head cocked; one could almost say he was trying to say something.

"Sorry Bait, I'm not Ezran," he shrugged. "I mean, my people can calm animals and sometimes control them—I mean, I can too, but I'm not good at it—but as far as I know no one's ever been able to talk to one." He gave a sigh, "Maybe it was something I was supposed to be taught, my master was pretty good at it. You would like him, you're both grumpy…and you care about those close to you…"

"I smell land!" Villads exclaimed causing the pair to jump as he ran across the deck.

Pulling Bait into his arms, Trezac stood up walking up to the bow of the ship, joining the others. At long last, on the horizon, he could see land. "Oh thank the Force," he whispered.

They were covered in darkness for a brief moment and Trezac shivered as something rippled through the force around him. "What was that? A shadow?" Rayla questioned as they all looked up.

"You're askin' the wrong pirate," Villads shrugged causing Trezac to freeze.

Leaning back, he mouthed to Callum, "Pirate? You hired a pirate?!" The other boy didn't even notice his companion's horror.

""There's something up there."

"Something really powerful."

-.-

Eleven leaned over the railing, watching as Viren rode back into the castle grounds, looking defeated. "Oh, looks like someone's plans went well," she smirked, "like uniting people on their common humanity would work. Right little friend?" she strokes the small worm on her shoulder. Glancing to the other side, she raised a brow as she saw a woman in white robes stomping down the stairs. Even from where the inquisitor stood she could feel the rage and hatred for Viren seething off of her in waves. "Ooh, this'll be interesting."

"How dare you?!" she exclaimed stopping Viren in his tracks. "You used King Harrow's seal to summon the Pentarchy?! And then you lied to them?! You called yourself the Regent of Katolis! You committed treason Viren, and for what?!"

Eleven scowled as she missed the mage's response. She could feel it, misery and shame were coming from him strongly. Her puppet was growing weak. Clearly she underestimated his drive for power, pity. He'd been so useful to her.

"You'll be removed from the Council for this! And you'll be lucky if that's all!"

And he was about to become obsolete to her as well. This would not do. Twirling a piece of hair around her finger, Eleven smirked. Well, just because her current toy was about to be useless politically, didn't mean he still couldn't serve some use. He would be desperate to redeem himself after such a failure, a perfect weakness to exploit. Viren would do anything, show her anything she wanted.

And once she got all she wanted, then she'd put him out of his misery. It would after all be a mercy.

-.-

That night after, they made shelter in a large cave on a cliffside. Trezac sprawled on the ground, looking up at the stars. He was supposed to be on watch, but there was only one way up, and Callum woke up not long ago and playing with his cube, so everything seemed fine currently.

"Hey Trezac?" Callum spoke up, "What do you think this is anyway?"

"A glow cube?"

"Well, in my dad's letter, he said it was a key," the elder prince informed, "But a key to what?"

"I dunno," Trezac shrugged. "Could be a holocron?"

"A what?"

Trezac groaned, sitting up, "Basically, an information container. My people used them all the time. They can only be opened through the Force."

"But this is a key?"

"Hey, I'm just throwing out ideas," he shrugged.

"Well, you can still do magic, you open it," Callum huffed tossing the cube his direction bitterly.

Catching it with the Force, Trezac pursed his lips as he tried to open it as it hovered in front of him. He hadn't worked with holocrons much, only the masters on the council were allowed—though Anak—Master Skywalker let him mess with one once when he was first starting training under his former teacher. But from what he did know about them, is that there were supposed to be areas that one could move to unlock it, all he had was a glowing symbol in his face.

He tossed it back to Callum, "Welp, it's not a holocron."

"You two practicing magic or just playing a game of rolly-cubes?" Rayla spoke up, joining them at the mouth of the cave.

"Magic," Callum answered.

"What I do still isn't magic," Trezac repeated.

Not that anyone heard him for the hundredth time as Callum continued, "I think I'm getting close. There's so much swirling around in my head, but I need a way to bring it all together."

"Like some kind of breakthrough?" Rayla offered.

"Yeah!" Callum said moving the cube and frowning as it glowed in front of Rayla. "What about you? You were born with the Moon Arcanum."

"Uh, I suppose so?"

"So, when you do cool moon powers you're connecting to the moon, right? What does that feel like?"

Rayla shrugged, "I don't really think about it. I just, stand in the light of the full moon, and then there's a feeling like," she waved her hands around making whooshing noises, "and then there's a sort of ting! And then BAM!" she exploded to her feet, "Moonshadow powers! Does that help?"

"No not at all," Callum answered. "But I enjoyed it. Trezac what about you? How do you connect to your Force-magic stuff?"

Trezac blinked at them, "Um…well, I've been able to use it as far as I can remember, so I guess I was born with it," he shrugged. "My people…the temple I was raised at, they only take in those who have abilities like mine. It's just, I dunno, we're born with it? I don't know how they figure out who has the connection and who doesn't; they just know."

Callum groaned, flopping onto the ground staring up at the sky, "Why is this so hard? I have to be a mage again. I mean, we saw a dragon in the clouds yesterday! Things will only get tougher when we get into Xadia. And crossing the border? That's going to be crazy dangerous."

"Eh, well," Rayla shrugged, "maybe not."

"There's a river of lava!"

"Oh great," Trezac groaned.

"One does not simply walk into Xadia," Callum said.

"Actually, one does simply walk into Xadia," Rayla corrected. "There's a secret path: the Moonstone Path. It'll be safe and easy, even for you, magic or no magic."

"And even then, I've been around lava more than I'd ever want to," Trezac grumbled. "Depending on the river's size, I might be able to use the Force to carry you guys across. Or throw something big enough in so we can run across before it melts."

"Come on, let's get some rest," Rayla said getting up and stretching.

"You do that," Trezac said staying where he sat at the edge, looking up towards the sky.

"No one's gonna find us here," Callum reassured. "Right?"

"It's pretty hidden," Rayla agreed. "What is it?"

"I don't know, I have a feeling something's about to happen."

"It'll be fine 'Zac," Callum said patting his shoulder. "Come on, let's just get some rest. We can leave as soon as there's light."

With one final glance to the skies, Trezac got up, and followed them into the cave. Lying down in his soft dirt patch, he attempted to sleep.

-.-

Eleven listened to the rhythmic tapping of Viren's staff as he slowly descended the stairs. The fool still had shame rolling off him in waves. "Not sure how much longer he'll be useful," she muttered, moving the small worm onto her ear, letting it curl around before she brought up a piece of hair to hide it.

"Welcome back!" the cheery voice of the prisoner exclaimed. "I hope you had a pleasant trip."

"How can you possibly remain so cheerful in your dire circumstances?" Viren grumbled.

Behind the door, Eleven raised a brow. Yes, that was something she was curious about. Normally prisoners broke being held captive alone for so long; watching them break had always been one of her favorite pastimes. Yet, this one, he didn't. It intrigued her.

"Well, I think about it like this: why see myself as chained down, when I can be chained up?"

"I admire your tenacity," Viren replied.

So did Eleven. This one was so strangely positive. Perhaps when she disposed of Viren this one could be her new toy? No doubt he'd be very entertaining.

Viren opened the door, entering the cell and closing it behind him. "Finally ready?" Eleven spoke up, causing the mage to jump in the air and whirl around to face her.

"Eleven," he sighed clutching his chest. "Don't startle me like that."

"Why not, it's fun," she smirked. "So, are you ready to stop being a coward and finish," she pointed to the mirror where her new friend stood waiting.

Viren looked down, giving a small nod, "I have nothing left to lose."

Eleven smirked and she could see her friend smirking as well. "Good," she stepped aside motioning to the items on the table, "He's been asking about you."

-.-

A thundering roar caused both the assassin and padawan to leap up as Callum and Ezran blearily sat up, rubbing their eyes. "Oh no," Rayla whispered, "I know that sound!"

Racing out of the cave, she led the way as Trezac and Callum were right behind her. They skid to a stop on a rocky ledge, staring in horror. Black plumes of smoke rose up into the air as fire reigned down from above as a massive beast soared over the town. Even from where they stood they could hear the screams of the townspeople as they ran in terror.

And for a moment, Trezac thought he heard blasters.

It dove back towards the town, releasing another barrage of flames. Through the pale light of, they could see a violet bolt shoot past, no doubt a sorcerer was there trying to drive the beast off. the violet plume turned in the air, chasing the dragon before ramming into its side, causing a screech of pain to echo over the valley.

"They hit it!" Rayla exclaimed in horror as the massive creature flew past. Turning in the air, it flew towards them, and Rayla tackled everyone to the ground as its claws passed on where their heads had been a moment before.

It was then they heard the loud crash.

Sitting up, they looked with wide eyes towards the large trench in the ground, a red shape lying at the end. Ezran scampered past them, down into the woods, ignoring his brother's calls as they chased after him, scrambling down the slope and over roots and rocks.

When they caught up, the were at the edge of a clearing, the dragon lying in front of them. "Is…is it dead?" Callum asked.

Trezac closed his eyes, reaching out through the force, trying to sense the presence of life. He grimaced, the first thing he felt was anger, pain, grief; all very negative emotions. "It's alive," he spoke as a soft growl echoed over them and blue eyes slowly opened.

"You're in pain," Ezran said kneeling in front of the dragon's muzzle, hugging it gently. "You're ok, we can help you." Ezran patted the dragon's nose, shuffling around till he pointed at something, "There! Beneath her wing."

Callum was the first to move, running over, trying, and failing to lift the massive appendage. After a moment, Rayla came up and tapped his shoulder, motioning behind them, where Trezac stood waiting. Eyes widening in realization, the prince followed the elf's lead as the scrambled back.

Closing his eyes, Trezac began to lift. The wing was heavy. Surprisingly so for it being from a flying animal, but he'd had to help his master lift ships before, so this shouldn't be too much of a problem. Once there was space to crawl under, Rayla darted for the opening heading right for the spear. Grabbing it firmly, she carefully adjusted so it hopefully wouldn't do more damage on the way out than it had going in. She closed her eyes and pulled.

The spear came out with a squelch and a spurt of blood as the dragon gave a cry of pain. Kneeling by the injury, the assassin grimaced, it was severe, but hopefully it wouldn't be fatal. The wound itself was small, but it was the magic she was concerned about. Crawling back out, Trezac slowly set her wing down as she look at the dragon who gave a soft growl before closing her eyes.

A neigh echoed through the forest, causing the group to turn. Through the brush, they could see an approaching party of soldiers. "The humans are coming," Rayla growled brandishing her swords, "We have to protect her."

"We can't fight them Rayla," Callum said.

"I can't just leave her!"

"Callum's right, and we have to get back to Zym," Ezran spoke up, tugging on Rayla's arm.

"We did what we could," Trezac nodded. "We can't afford to be caught."

With a gentle nudge, they managed to get Rayla moving, allowing them to hide in the woods on the other side of the clearing as the patrol came in.

A patrol, lead by Claudia and Soren.

"That's not good," Trezac hissed through his teeth. They were closer than he thought. After the incident on the caldera, he thought they managed to put some distance between them. How in the world did they catch up so fast?

"Trezac," Callum whispered.

Nodding to the other boy, the padawan slowly retreated into the brush, careful not to make a sound in order to avoid detection. Once he caught up with the others, they ran up onto the rocky path leading the way to the cave.

"Zym!" Ezran called. "Zym, are you ok?"

There was a whimper and the tiny hatchling quickly scampered out and cling to Ezran worriedly. Agir gave a short bark, trotting over to Trezac and licking his palm as the padawan knelt down to pet him. Bait, meanwhile, crawled over to Callum, allowing the elder brother to pick him up.

"I should've done something," Rayla spoke, looking in the direction the dragon crashed.

"Rayla, you're always the one who reminds us that the only thing that matters is getting Zym back to Xadia," Callum reminded. "Why are you hesitating now?"

"I'm not hesitating! This is different!" she snapped. "Every fiber in my body is telling me this is wrong! That dragon is defenseless, and I just left her there!"

"I don't get it Rayla. Why are you so worried about a dragon that just set fire to a town of innocent people?" Callum questioned.

"I've been thinking about something someone once told me," she replied. "About how when one person hurts another and then that person hurts them back, it becomes a cycle that never ends."

"Who told you that?"

"You did," she said.

"Oh.

"But Callum, to break that cycle, someone has to take a stand when no one else will!"

"I agree," Trezac spoke up.

Callum nodded, "You're right. If we're really going to change things, we can't just watch while humans and Xadia keep hurting each other. But how can I take a stand? Believe me, I want to go down there with you guys, amd be the hero who stops all the fighting and saves the day. But I can't do that! I can't do anything!"

"That's not true Callum," Trezac said. "You can do lots of things. Sometimes, figuring out what you're good at just takes time."

"Look Callum, I'm not asking you or Trezac to come with me," Rayla said resting her hands on his shoulders. "Protecting that dragon doesn't just feel like the right thing to do, it feels like the right thing for me to do. It's where I'm meant to be. I'm going back down there."

"I'll come with," Trezac said quietly. "Jedi are supposed to be peacekeepers, I can't turn away…not again."

Rayla nodded, looking back to Callum, "If we don't come back, you and Ezran can get Zym to Xadia. I believe in you." With that, she leapt off the cliff and onto one of the trees.

Following her lead, Trezac used a force jump to fly past. Landing on the ground, he leapt again in the direction of the dragon. As he fell to the ground, the padawan tucked into a ball and rolled quietly to the ground.

"It doesn't matter what happens to us," Rayla spoke quietly catching up, "Live or die, this dragon's going home."

"Nodding in agreement, the pair split up. As she went around to cut the ropes, Trezac knelt in the brush watching carefully. So far, none of the guards seemed to notice. Good, but Rayla wound't be able to get those chains off alone. Stretching out his hand, Trezac tried to pull the chains. He saw them lift for a moment, but it didn't get far with the stakes securing them.

Guess he'd have to get the stakes out before moving the chains.

Raising his hand again, Trezac focused on one stake, trying to move it up out of the ground slowly so no one would notice.

Unfortunately someone noticed. Good news was, it was Rayla.

Her brows rose as she saw one of the stakes shaking back and forth as it was slowly coming up from the ground. But it didn't take her long to figure out who the culprit was. As weird as human magic was, she had to admit, it was handy. She turned to cut the next rope when the tap of metal on metal caught her attention. Turning around, swords raised, she saw the guards pointing weapons at her, their leader, Soren. "Ugh, you again, of course."

"A dead dragon and a dead elf all in one day," the blonde snickered. "Everything's coming up Soren."

He charged at her, sword raised and she returned his challenge, their blades clashing, sparks flying off with every strike. She ducked under a swung, stepping back and raising her blades again as he leapt at her. She could feel her arms shaking with the effort to hold him back, when the wind was suddenly knocked from her lungs as something hit her in the gut. Landing on her back, she scrambled to her feet, watching the soldiers around her slowly approaching.

Seeing her predicament, Trezac leapt out of the brush, landing in front of Rayla and throwing his arms out. Rayla nearly stumbled as she felt a powerful wave of out from him and she watched as the knights were sent flying off their feet several meters away.

Yep, as strange as human magic was, it was handy.

There was a slight hiss in the air, and her friend's two sunforged blades came to life, one glowing yellow the other a silvery-blue. Swinging a blade, she watched as it effortlessly cut through the metal of one of the chains.

The guards raised their weapons, charging at them again. Rayla swung her swords, knocking two men back. Leaping back, she landed on the dragon, racing towards the other chains as Trezac fought them off. his blades were just blurs of color, and she could hear them whooshing through the air as they effortlessly cut through the metal swords and spears of the soldiers. One guard who was brave enough to try to tackle him ended up getting a nasty slash through his armor.

Rayla grimaced as she caught the scent of burnt flesh. Whatever those swords were, they were extremely hot. But she couldn't focus on that right now. Flipping a sword into its curved form, she tucked it under two crossing chains. Slamming her other sword on it, Rayla grimaced as sparks flew off and it bounced back. Clearly her blades weren't going to get through these as easily.

"Yeah, the thing about metal," she heard the insufferable blonde scoff, "hard to cut."

"Trezac!" she called.

Soren paled and she smirked as the mage used his magic to lift the soldier he was fighting off the ground and sent him flying through air into several of his comrades. Quickly turning on his heel, Trezac ran over, jumping off a guard's head and landing on the dragon's back with her. Still holding the chains up, she motioned to it with her head and he nodded, quickly slicing through them, causing the molten ends to fall away to the ground.

"You were saying," she taunted back and he scowled, raising his sword again.

"Try not to kill them Soren, they can lead us to Callum and Ezran," Claudia reminded.

"They don't have to." Turning they saw Callum walking from the treeline. "I'm right here."

Trezac's brows furrowed. Something was wrong. Dread pooled in his gut a particular emotion hit him: rage. He hadn't felt this much since…since his last time near a true Dark Side user. And it was coming off of Callum.

Once he saw what was in the boy's hand, he understood why.

The book, Callum had the spellbook, Claudia's spellbook, clutched in one hand. In the other, he could make out something small and green. No, no this couldn't be happening, not again.

Claudia seemed to realize what was going on as well. "Callum, what're you doing?"

Callum raised the book and the object in his other hand, a dark gleam in his eye as anger rolled off him again. "Your kind of magic."

Rayla's eyes widened and she looked at Trezac, noting the same look of horror on his face. The Jedi—as he called himself—had paled rapidly in the past few seconds.

"You don't want to do this Callum," Claudia said slowly stepping towards the step-prince. "It's really dangerous unless someone shows you how."

Callum narrowed his eyes. "You already did." Crushing the creature in his hand, Trezac gasped as he felt a wave of darkness as Callum began chanting. "Nrut ym stelecarb otni stnepres."

Green fire shot from his hand and the chains began to glow, rising from the ground symbols began to appear along the sides as they melted into a single form and the heads of snakes formed at the ends. Multiple hisses echoed over the clearing as the dark creatures unwound themselves from the dragon, slithering towards the guards as they tried to escape.

"Trezac stumbled off the dragon, reeling. No, no this couldn't be happening again. He just lost everyone he knew to someone he cared about turning towards darkness. He watched as he singlehandedly destroyed everything he'd known. He could smell the acrid smell of burnt flesh. Closing his eyes, he tried to make it go away.

Instead, all he could see were the bodies of his fallen brothers and sisters.

Green eyes snapped open. Smoke billowed out from the temple as he saw clones slowly marching towards him, weapons drawn. They were allies, friends, and they were going to kill him. Just like the slaughtered the very generals they served. The stepped aside as a dark cloak billowed around the figure coming through. In that moment, all he saw was _him_.

And then Trezac saw nothing but red.


	24. Pain of the Past

Chapter 24

**A/N: hey guys, welcome back. So, I'm sure y'all noticed that I skimmed over the two episodes where Viren was telling the story to Queen Aanya, but that was due to the fact that I didn't have much material to work with unless I wanted to do flashbacks into Trezac's past (maybe I will maybe I won't we'll see). So yeah, I just decided to skim over them. **

**Also, I recently finished my primary concept art of Eleven. It's the cover right now and it's on my DeviantArt: ****_MoonviewRising_****. **

**Anyways, hope I can meet y'all expectations for this chapter, I'll admit, I had a difficult time writing this one. My muse kinda ran away with me on the last one and then blatantly decided right here was a good time to run off.**

**So, as usual, I'm just the writer, ****_Gabeherdon308_**** owns Trezac and ****_Mandalore the Survivor_**** owns the Mandaloian survivors.**

Claudia stood warily at the sidelines watching as the elf tried to get the dragon up. While she didn't want the dragon to leave, she needed the elf alive. She was more important than the beast. She could lead them to Ezran and the Dragon Prince. They had Callum, and now they just needed to reason with Trezac and calm him down.

Glancing away from the elf, she watched as Trezac practically fell off the dragon, landing on his hands and knees; all of his usual grace gone. Even from where she stood she could see his body shaking.

Something was wrong.

She glared at the elf standing beside him trying to move the dragon. She was likely the culprit for her friend's plight. Looking to her brother, she nodded. Right now, Trezac clearly wasn't paying attention, and they needed that elf. Then this whole problem would be over.

Soren smirked at her, twirling his blade nonchalantly as he strode by his knights and towards the elf and Trezac. The boy was looking towards Soren, and Claudia patted herself, trying to find something she could use to stop him if he tried fighting again.

What she didn't expect was the pain and rage filled scream that blasted her off her feet.

The air left her lungs as she slammed into a tree, and she could hear the guards screaming over the metal of their armor and weapons bending unnaturally. But one thing she heard clearly over the pandemonium was a distinct snap. Claudia was a dark magic practitioner; she'd done it enough to recognize the sound. Someone had broken their bones, severely.

But that could wait. Right now, they needed to finish their mission.

More screams pierced the air as she heard the sound of Trezac's strange swords moving. Scrambling to her feet, the dark mage froze where she stood.

Trezac had stabbed one of the guards, his burning blade cutting clean through the man, armor and all, coming out the other side. She could smell the flesh burning. Ripping the blade out his other blade sliced another man's hands off. Before swinging his blades and cleaving the two men charging him from the side in half. And they were still screaming when they hit the ground. Arrows flew his way and he swung his arm, causing the projectiles to change course and fly into several more men before he ducked under and incoming spear and sliced it in half.

Glancing around, she saw that the remaining men definitely were more wary to try to attack. They were clearly out of their depth. Sunforged blades were dangerous, especially when in the hands of someone who knew how to use them.

Screw finishing the mission, they needed to get out of here now.

A familiar battle cry caused her eyes to widen in horror. Soren, was charging right towards Trezac, sword drawn. "SOREN!"

He raised his sword to attack as Trezac turned towards him. Her brother lurched where he stood, sword clattering out of his hand, his feet came off the ground and she could only stare as he desperately grasped at his throat, trying to breath.

What came next would forever haunt her memories. Trezac, someone she considered a friend, pulled his arm back and thrust it forwards. As a result, Soren went flying, right into a large bolder with a sickening crack.

"SOREN!" she screamed racing towards him and quickly kneeling by his side. "I'm here." Her brother groaned, eyes squeezing shut as she carefully shook his arm, "Come on, get up. We have to get you some help."

"I-I can't move Claudia," he whimpered. "I can't move!"

Claudia gasped, looking back towards the battleground. She needed her bag! Spotting it, dread settled in her gut, it was all the way across the clearing, where the elf was taking Callum and Ezran. And a now angry, free dragon were standing between them.

The massive beast roared, swinging its tail at the rest of her men, knocking them away from Rayla, Ezran, and Callum. She watched as the young prince set the baby dragon down.

Dread settled in her gut, as he began to turn to run into the battleground. No, she couldn't lose Ezran too!

"Nrut ym stelecarb otni stnepres! Erutpac mih!"

The chains on her wrists came alive, hissing as they leapt off and slithered towards Trezac.

Dispatching another unfortunate guard, Trezac immediately turned in her direction. Something bright came her way and she immediately fell back. Her eyes wide as she saw the burning orange blade bury itself into the tree before deactivating. As it fell to the ground, it stopped in midair flying back into his hand and relighting. He charged towards her.

She rolled aside as the two burning blades stabbed into the ground of where she had once been. She scrambled to her feet, racing towards her bag and pulling out a small spider. "Erif tsalb ekirts darh dna eurt!"

A fireball flew from her hand towards him. Pausing where he stood, Trezac stretched out his arms and did a spin flip in the air. Claudia's eyes widened as the flames went around him and flew back at her.

"Tcelfed emalf!" Despite her effort, the resulting blast knocked her off her feet.

It was then her throat closed up, grasping at her throat. She felt herself get pulled off the ground, her feet skimming over the top of the grass. She couldn't breathe. It was like something was closing off her airway.

Fear coursed through her. This is exactly what she saw happen to Soren. Trezac was going to try to kill her too.

And then the air returned to her lungs and she collapsed back to the ground; gasping for air.

Getting up, she faltered as she saw Ezran tugging on Trezac's sleeves. Seeming to snap out of whatever he was in, Trezac dropped his blades. He was turned away from her, so she couldn't see his face. Ezran picked up the sabers, pulling Trezac along as the young man stared at the carnage around him; the very carnage he wrought.

The girl clenched her fist, tears streaming down her face. She wanted to make him pay!

She would make him pay!

A weak gasp came from her brother, "Cl-Claudia."

Tearing her gaze away from the source of her hatred, she quickly knelt beside her brother once again. She would get revenge, once Soren was back on his feet. Then Trezac would pay.

-.-

Eleven shivered as she felt a powerful ripple through the force. Closing her eyes, she reached past Viren and her new friend, looking for the source. It was on this planet.

She scowled as she came across an unfamiliar presence. This rage, it wasn't Twelve. In fact…she hadn't sensed Twelve in a while. It was odd he'd gone so long without contact. She'd have to contact the nearby fleets, see if anyone heard from him or if he was reassigned.

Though, there was the chance he failed at his mission and died.

Of course, that left only one person it could be. As gifted as this planet's people were, they seemed to lack a _true_ connection to the force. The padawan, he was still out there. That would not bode well for her plans. Especially with Lord Vader being so insistent on results.

A small red light flashed in the room, and she rolled her eyes. Finally, Viren had managed to summon their friend's little communicator.

_"Speak."_

Viren sputtered looking wildly around the room. "What?"

_"Speak, so I may hear you."_

"I apologize for him," Eleven spoke up stepping up beside the flustered man. "He's not used to this method of communication."

_"Ah,"_ the elf nodded slowly. _"I see."_

"Who—who are you?"

"Viren, I'd like you to meet our new friend," Eleven grinned. "He's going to be helping us."

"Who are you?" Viren repeated.

_"My name would mean nothing to you."_

"Guy's really keen on knowing things," Eleven drawled. He said the same thing to her when she asked, and frankly she didn't care. If he was of use, he was of use. She could dispose of him when she was done. Picking up a broken piece of rock and dragging her nail across it. A scratch was left and she smiled, good, her nails were still sharp enough to kill. Just the way she liked them.

_"So you have told me."_

"Where are you?" Viren tried.

The elf looked confused, _"I do not know."_

"Don't lie to me," Viren scowled.

Eleven rolled her eyes, by the ancient Sith Lords, it was soooo easy to lie to this fool.

_"I'm not lying. I never lie."_

And that just proved it.

Viren sighed, seeming to believe him. "I found this mirror in the layer of the Dragon King. This mirror meant something to him; _you_ meant something to him."

_"Perhaps,"_ the elf answered cryptically, casually interlacing his fingers. _"Tell me what you need and I will help you."_

"I need your name!" the mage snapped and Eleven pointed raising a brow towards her mirror pal.

The elf sighed, lowering his hood to let long white hair spill out and revealing a set of long curved horns and dark sparkling markings under his eyes, _"Aaravos."_

Taking his answer, Viren pulled his worm off his ear, dropping and sealing it in a jar as he stomped out. No doubt to investigate who this was.

Eleven on the other hand, didn't care. As if anyone on this paltry world would be a challenge for her. "So, Aaravos. Now that our little toy is gone. What's the next step?"

-.-

Trezac sat in the back of the cave, his arms wrapped around his knees.

What…what had he done?

Screams echoed in his ears and he closed his eyes tightly, feeling them start to sting. He could see it, his clone friends who he helped Master Yoda and his master kill. The poor soldiers who he slaughtered without a second thought; their screams, it…it just started all blurring together. What was wrong with him? He was a jedi, he wasn't supposed to lose control like that. He wasn't supposed to murder people in cold blood. He wasn't supposed to cripple innocent people for life! This world was primitive, there was no way they had the technology to fix what he had done.

His master would be so disappointed in him. Especially after…after what happened to his last apprentice, what happened to Anakin.

Trezac had always liked how Master Skywalker and Ahsoka had been able to express their emotions and feelings about things; his master did too, but he was in more control. It was a nice change from the monotony of the temple. But should know better than to trust his emotions. Emotions lead to pain, suffering, banishment from the order, and inevitably to the Dark Side. He didn't want to go down that road. He didn't want to be Anakin…not anymore at least.

Trezac clenched his fists, pulling on his hair. Why? Why was he like this? Why couldn't he stop getting attached to people?! They all only left him in the end. People left, it was what the order had always taught. Attachments couldn't be afforded; it was selfish.

Why couldn't he control his emotions like all the other masters had been able to? Every time he lost control something happened.

Callum's weak gasping breaths reached him, making him squeeze his eyes tighter as the images of Claudia and Soren came to him. Desperately grabbing at their throats begging for mercy. The same way he saw Padme beg Anakin when he choked the life out of her.

He could hear the snapping of bones, smell flesh burning, the terrified screams of the soldiers as he ruthlessly cut through them. Just like Master Skywalker had cut through the defenseless younglings in the temple, he had cut through the soldiers.

They weren't capable of fighting someone like him. Those men didn't have blasters or ray shields. All they had were flimsy metal swords and shields; things that were mere putty to a lightsaber.

By the Force, he really was a monster.

"Trezac…"

"Trezac!" Blinking, he looked up his gaze meeting the frustrated gaze of Rayla as she stood in front of him arms crossed. "Welcome back to the land of the living."

He gave a small nod of acknowledgement, looking back down at the ground in shame. How could they even stand to be near him right now? After what they saw him do?

They were already afraid of him. He could feel it.

The elf's brows furrowed and she knelt down, biting the inside of her cheek. "Hey, uh…what happened back there?"

"It…it was nothing," he whispered, pulling his legs closer. He hoped she would go away, he just wanted to be left alone.

Trezac couldn't see her face, but he felt the anger started to come off her. "Nothing?" she scoffed. "You just killed people!"

"Oh like you weren't about to do the same if you had the chance?!" he defended rising to his feet. "In case you forgot, we only met, cause you came to _murder_ Ezran!"

Rayla took a step back, her jaw falling slightly open in shock. "You think I wanted to kill him?!"

"You sure seemed eager when we first met!"

"It was justice!" she snarled poking him in the chest. "What you did was slaughter!"

Trezac hissed through his teeth, ignoring the wetness he felt on his cheeks. No, he couldn't cry. Emotions were a weakness. Emotions only brought trouble. "Oh, and like you're so noble? Do you have any idea what war is like?!"

"Do you?!"

"Yes!" he snapped. Her eyes went wide and he stepped back, feeling something wet running down his cheeks. "I never wanted to kill people…but, sometimes…" he stepped back, looking away again, "you don't get a choice on what you have to do."

Judging from the some of the anger rolling off her, Rayla still wanted to continue the argument; despite some of his words getting through to her. But, Trezac…he just didn't have the energy for it anymore. Whatever he had left he used up when he snapped at Rayla, and for what? To defend himself? Why should he defend himself for his actions? They were inexcusable; they were the actions of a monster. And only a monster would find themselves capable to defend the slaughter of innocents. He'd seen it time and time again in the Separatists, the Sith, gang lords and slavers.

Trezac never wanted to kill people. Yes, he often found it fun to cut up battle droids, but who didn't?

Killing a droid wasn't the same as a living being. A droid wasn't alive, wasn't connected to the force, he couldn't see the life leave them. Droids could be repaired and replaced, but people…people, they were always going to be different in some way. And if they were gone…they were gone forever; there were no reboots, no second chances.

Wiping his cheeks to hide whatever remnants of his tears remained, the ex-padawan was pulled out of his thoughts by the soft clinking of stones.

Rayla had heard it too. "Who's there?!" she demanded unsheathing her swords. "Come out or I'll greet ya with my pointy friends!"

A dark-skinned man with hair pulled back jumped down, twirling a grappling hook on a chain.

"You again," Rayla muttered.

"Again?" Ezran spoke up.

The man's amber eyes snapped over to the boy, and Trezac slowly gripped one of his sabers. While he may be a monster, at least he could do something right and protect Ezran.

Instead of attacking, the man's eyes widened and he raised his hands in surrender. "I'm not here to fight," he set the chain down. "My name is Corvus. Your Aunt Amaya sent me."

Rayla turned back to look at Ezran, and the boy nodded, allowing both young guards to slip into more relaxed stances as the man strode towards Ezran.

Corvus nodded, stepping up and bowing to Ezran, "I am here to serve the king." He knelt down, "King Ezran."

-.-

A familiar pulse rippled through the force.

The bridge went silent as Lord Vader turned on his heel, striding towards the comms center, some of their equipment sparking and metal bending. The door sealed behind him and he activated the transmission systems. "Twelve."

The inquisitor didn't answer. He supposed that shouldn't be much of a shock. Twelve was loyal, always had been ever since he joined. But Eleven, she had always been ambitious. Too ambitious.

No doubt that she'd finally disposed of her partner to ensure her plans. A true Sith. But, as the rules went, there could only be two.

Vader was not about to have his position taken by a weak, overly ambitious worm. Yes, Eleven had potential, but if he wanted to remove Lord Sidious, he'd need someone stronger. And she would undoubtedly stab him in the back.

But this feeling, he knew it well. The rage, the pain, the hatred, it was all one needed to turn to the Dark Side.

"Eleven."

The holorgram turned on, and the female inquisitor bowed. /Lord Vader/ she greeted. /How may I serve you?/

"Where is Twelve?"

She gave a shrug. /You act like I know/ she replied flippantly. /He went to chase down the target while I was consolidating an alliance with the natives. I think you'd be interested in their…abilities. If he hasn't responded, he's probably dead/

"Is that not why I sent you _both_?"

A frown crossed her face. /Like I said, I've been learning about the strange force here on this planet, Lord Vader/

A new form of force…this was an issue. Especially since Eleven all but ditched her mission. She'd need to be taught a lesson for her insolence.

The woman on the other end of the transmission gasped, grabbing her throat and lifting off the ground. "I told you to find the boy. And instead, you choose to play games," he spoke coldly watching as she continued to struggle. "Do not test me inquisitor," she dropped to the ground, "I will allow you this mercy once. Find the boy, bring him to me _alive_ and keep the damage minimal unless necessary. He will lead me to his master. Then, we will discuss this new force. Fail, and I will assign someone more capable than you."

Eleven got to her feet, giving a bow, /Understood, my Lord/

He ended the transmission, turning away. Eleven was turning rouge, that much was clear. Her own arrogance would be her downfall. And this new form of force…he would need to investigate.

As for his new apprentice…he'd just need a push in the right direction.

After all, when he used to be a Jedi, he often saw Trezac as a younger version of himself.

**A/N: Hey guys! Welcome back! Hope y'all like this chapter and hope it met y'all's expectations. Anyways, I just figured I would do some quick update sets cause my semester is about to start in the next few weeks. So updates are probably going to become more sparadoic. Anyways, let me know what y'all thought of this chapter! And I'll see y'all next time!**


	25. Frayed Bonds

Chapter 25

**A/N: hello everyone, welcome back. Good to see y'all again. Remember, the OCs of this story belong to Mandalore the Survivor and Gabeherdon308; I'm just the writer who has permission to use their characters in this story.**

"I am here to serve the king," Corvis said as he knelt down, "King Ezran."

"Rayla and Trezac's eyes went wide and they both shared a glance as the younger boy took a confused step back, holding up his hands, "I'm not the king. My dad…" Ezran trailed off and they could see him piecing things together, "wait…That's not what you're saying. He isn't…" Ezran looked to Ralya and Trezac, blue eyes welling up with tears as he saw their faces. "No…no, no, no!"

"Ezran, it's going to be ok," Rayla spoke gently stepping forwards.

"You knew?!" the boy snapped whirling on her, betrayal flashing in his eyes. "I'm an idiot! I should've figured it out! When we met you, had two of those assassiny ribbon things; but one of them came off that night!"

Rayla lowered her head, giving a small nod, "That's right. That must've been when he fell."

"Fell?" Ezran repeated.

"Yes."

"Fell? He didn't fall Rayla! He didn't trip and land on the ground! He got killed!" Ezran snapped. His gaze snapped to Trezac, "And how long did you know about this?!"

Trezac glanced away, feeling more guilt than he had before. "A while," he murmured.

"And you didn't think to tell me?!"

"I didn't want to hurt you," he answered.

"Just like you didn't want to hurt those guards?" he retorted making Trezac flinch. Ezran glared at them both before his eyes widened and he looked to his brother, "Callum…does he know yet?"

"He knows," Rayla answered.

Ezran scowled, his small fists clenching tighter. "I'm going for a walk."

"I can't let you go alone," Corvis said stepping in front of the boy.

Ezran held up his head, meeting the man's eyes, "If I am the king, then you have to let me go."

Corvis stood down, stepping aside to let the boy pass, before Rayla stood up and walked towards him, "You're not my king. But you are my friend, and I'm coming with you."

"Rayla please, just let me be alone," he said running away.

The elven assassin took a step after him when a hand rested on her shoulder and she saw Trezac looking solemn, "Let him go, he needs time to process."

"Yeah," Rayla grumbled shoving him away, "can't say I blame him."

-.-

Claudia peered into the room her brother lied in, bracing herself for the news she'd have to give him. the doctor confirmed her worst fears, Soren was paralyzed; Trezac, someone she once considered a friend, paralyzed her brother.

With a soft sigh, she brushed the curtain aside walking in and patting his shoulder, "Hey Sor-Sor," she greeted sitting down in the chair beside his bed. "All the people in town are talking about you. about how you faced the dragon and saved the town. Everyone's calling you a hero."

Instead of seeming happier by the news, Soren's face soured as he scoffed, "Saved the town? I saved them from a problem I caused, is that what heroes do?"

Claudia glanced away, this wasn't going as she expected. She wanted to cheer Soren up before breaking the news, but she only seemed to be making things worse. "So…I, uh, I talked to the doctor, and I guess they did some tests—"

"I already know," Soren interrupted causing her to look towards him shocked.

"What?"

"I can't move," he replied solemnly, "I can't walk, and it's not going to get better." He glanced to the window, watching as a pair of kids ran by, a small smile forming on his face. "It's for the best. I'm glad I can't move."

Claudia gasped, reaching out and taking her brother's hand. "Soren, what're you talking about? What about being the Crown Guard? Why would you say that?"

Soren glanced away, "Before we left, Dad and Eleven gave me a secret mission."

"They did?"

"I was confused," he continued while starting to tear up, "and I didn't want to do it, but…I do want Dad to love me and be proud of me…"

Claudia leaned forwards, gently wiping away her brother's tears, "Oh Soren, Dad is proud of you no matter what."

Her worry grew as Soren didn't respond, and only continued to ramble on, "Dad's so smart, so I figured there must've been a good reason."

"Soren, what did Dad ask you to do?"

"Kill the Princes."

"W-what?" Claudia muttered as her blood ran cold. There was no way, no way her father would do this. He wouldn't tell Soren to kill the Princes; they were friends, Viren watched them grow up. Her father wouldn't say such a thing; it was treason. "No, no, no, no, that can't be right. You must've misunderstood Sor-bear."

Instead of cracking a joking smile, saying she was right, Soren just looked away, "Now I can't do anything terrible; cause now I can't do anything."

-.-

Rayla and Trezac watched from their respective spots as Corvis paced back and forth at the entrance of the cave. The agitation Trezac could feel coming from the man was making him more anxious than he already was given the situation. This was his fault. Ezran hated him. If he didn't lose control then maybe Ezran wouldn't have run off, maybe Callum wouldn't be like this if he could've just kept himself in check.

"The King is missing," Corvis stated looking out towards the forest.

"He's not missing, he went for a walk," Rayla scoffed.

Corvis turned, giving the elf an annoyed look, "And he hasn't returned, we don't know where he is."

"Right."

"That is the definition of missing!" the man exclaimed.

Rayla gave a sigh, "Yeah, you're right. He's missing."

"You shouldn't have let him go. We need to find him."

"Aren't you a tracker? Isn't this your whole job?" Rayla asked.

"Yes! I shall bring the King back safely! You have my word!" the man said running off.

"Ooh, I have his word," Rayla rolled her eyes. "Like the word of a stranger means much." She leaned back onto her palms, frowning as she glanced at Callum. His skin was still strikingly pale, and perspiration was forming on his forehead. Rayla chewed the inside of her cheek, he didn't look like he was getting better, if anything, he seemed worse than before.

Of course, she didn't know much about magic. Spells had never really been her thing, she knew a few, just enough to pass her training, but that was it; and it wasn't like she was good at performing magic either. Not like Callum, he was really good at it; when it was pure magic and not the sick corrupted stuff their friend Claudia did.

Her gaze glanced further into the cave, where she could see Trezac's form huddled somewhere in the back far from them. A small amount of guilt did eat at her for how she accused him earlier. During the time waiting for Callum to recover or for Ezran to return—whichever came first—she'd been thinking over the battle and berating herself for not remembering it sooner. Back when Trezac started his attack, she couldn't help but remember the look of utter terror the Katolis guard that discovered their band of assassins gave her when she'd been about to kill him.

Trezac had that same look in his eye when he saw Callum do dark magic. It didn't take a genius to realize that Trezac had likely had a very, very bad experience with dark magic.

It was the only thing she could figure for his violent reaction. Whatever spell Callum did, it made him relive something. She'd heard it enough from Runaan's stories when she was training to be an assassin. Heck, she'd even seen some of her kin reliving their own ordeals from the early years of the war with the humans.

And she sat there, blaming him for something he didn't mean to do. Even from where she sat now she could tell he was beating himself up.

With a deep breath, she left Callum's side, striding over and kneeling beside him. "Uh…hey?" she started, trying to seem friendly after their previous argument. When Trezac didn't even so much as glance her way, she shoved down the anger in her chest. She did kind of deserve it for being so harsh on him earlier. "Look, I'm sorry, for what I said earlier."

"You shouldn't be," he rasped quietly, pulling his knees closer to himself. "You were right, I really am a monster."

Rayla hissed through her teeth, she never explicitly said it, but the fact he knew what she'd been thinking…It hurt more than she'd like to admit. If anyone knew what it was like to be called a monster, it was her. All the times she heard her people called monsters, savages, beasts, or anything along those lines, it hurt. She wasn't a monster, she never wanted to hurt people, she just wanted the war to end. She was trying to help them, but every time a human saw her, they just saw a monster who needed to be killed. "No, you aren't," she said fully sitting next to him. "I was wrong. I was just…"

"Scared?" he said glancing at her. "I know. I would be scared of me too."

"What you did…it was really scary," she agreed. "But…your reaction…it has to do with that war you were talkin' about earlier, isn't it?"

He glanced away with tense shoulders, confirming her earlier suspicions. His actions were the result of some sort of traumatic experience in his past involving the likes of dark magic. Rayla wouldn't press further, after her treatment of him, her friend at least earned that much.

She suppressed a shudder as she returned to Callum's side, she knew dark magic was bad; but to do that to one of the strongest mages she'd ever met, it was now downright scary.

-.-

"WHAT'S GOING ON?!" Viren exclaimed slamming the door to the cell open as he stomped up to Aaravos. "EVERY TIME I FOUND A MENTION OF YOU IN AN ANCIENT SCROLL OR TOME, THE ENTIRE PASSAGE DISAPPEARED AS SOON AS I LOOKED!" Viren took a breath, calming himself down, "What game are you playing?"

Aaravos gave Eleven a bored look and she just rolled her eyes behind Viren's back. Honestly, he was such a child. Aaravos seemed to agree cause a small smirk crossed his face, and he set his book down and flicked his ear before motioning to the creature Viren trapped in the jar.

The mage gave a disgusted look as he put it back on, repressing a shiver.

Eleven gave a scoff, a real dark lord would be willing to get their hands dirty. "Why should I trust you?" Viren asked again.

_"You shouldn't,"_ Aaravos answered, _"yet."_

Eleven smirked, finally there was at least someone competent around here. And with Viren starting to crumble, it would be that much easier for her to get the power she needed to take what she wanted.

-.-

Rayla sat by Callum in silence glancing at Trezac every now and then. He moved closer than what he'd previously been, and Bait and Agir were both vying for his attention again. So he seemed to be doing, slightly, better than before. A throat cleared from nearby and she turned back to the path to see a sheepish Corvis. "What's wrong?" she grumbled standing up and crossing her arms. "What happened? Did you lose his trail?"

"No! It's worse than that!" Corvis said.

Now Rayla was serious, and from the corner of her eye, she could see Trezac moving to his feet. If something happened to Ezran, by all means, she'd help Trezac with that rampage. "What do you mean?"

"King Ezran's trail ends very clearly, very badly," Corvis answered. "His footprints are replaced by banther tracks! The King's been eaten by a banther!"

Rayla gasped trying to suppress her reaction, unfortunately, it didn't last long as she burst out laughing seconds later. "Great job, you've lost thing King of Katolis," she wheezed between laughs. Ancients her sides were starting to hurt.

"This isn't funny! Why are you laughing?!" Corvis exclaimed looking even more panicked than before; which only made Rayla laugh harder.

"Because, Ezran has a unique ability to talk to animals," Trezac spoke up joining them.

"Yep," Rayla snickered trying to stifle her laughs. "Which means he probably caught a ride _on_ the banther, not _in_ the banther."

Corvis gave Trezac a confused look, "He'll be fine," the padawan answered striding over to Callum and kneeling down as the other boy groaned, shifting around in his sleep. "How is he?"

"He messed with something he shouldn't have messed with and now he's paying the price," Rayla said giving Callum a scolding glare.

"Help!" Callum called in his sleep, still trying to fend off whatever nightmare he was facing.

Rayla sighed, kneeling beside Trezac as she picked up a damp cloth and set it on his forehead, "You'll pull through this, you big dumb human." Her violet eyes met Trezac's and her brows furrowed. "I don't suppose you have something in that sack of yours that'll help?"

Trezac frowned, he had a small supply of bacta, but he never heard of it used to treat the side effects of magic. Not even with the Night Sisters. "Not much, and I don't think it'll help. Magic is something completely different than a physical injury," he answered.

"So you do admit what you do is magic?" Rayla smirked.

Trezac gave her an annoyed glare. "No. But I have fought dark witches before," he said.

That piece of info got Rayla's attention. "You have?"

The jedi nodded, taking a seat, "Yeah, they were never fun to deal with."

"Dark magic is never supposed to be fun," Rayla muttered. "It's a vile thing."

Trezac nodded in agreement. "Yeah. But they're not as powerful as a Sith," he said quietly.

"A Sith?"

"Worse than a dark mage," Trezac replied cryptically, "way worse."

"How?"

Green eyes met her own and a dark look crossed his face, "If you thought I was scary I lost control; that was nothing compared to a Sith Lord."

Rayla felt sick to her stomach at his words. Trezac had terrified her when he snapped; she'd never seen anything or anyone so merciless. When he started attacking the idiot and his murderous sister, Rayla had started to fear she'd have to fight him. And she knew she couldn't take Trezac in a fight. He'd proved time and time again he was way more capable in combat than her.

Rayla was even willing to bet money that Trezac could easily beat Runaan in a fight. Her mentor had always been one of the best fighters in their clan, but…the mage by her side was on another level of combat. Runaan had always told her that training could only get her so far. There was a serious difference between practice and experience. And Trezac clearly had that experience; he always reacted faster, he could read people, he was easily one of the best swordsmen she'd seen—with sunforged blades nonetheless—and, more importantly, he could do magic without ever uttering a word.

That skill was almost unheard of in mages; as far as Rayla knew, only Archmages could do magic without words. But even they needed runes; she'd never once seen Trezac draw a rune to do magic. In all the years Rayla spent hearing about magic from Ethari, there's only been stories about mages like that. Children's tales of some of Xadia's first magic users. Even with those tales, there'd only ever been one truly possible case where the legend could be true, a dark mage with red sun-swords who was rumored to wander in the shadows of Xadia.

And now, to know that there was something even stronger than Trezac was…It was scary. How would they even fight one?

"Have…have you ever fought one before?" she asked.

The mage gave a small nod, looking out towards the horizon quietly, "Yeah."

"What was it like?"

Trezac went quiet, thinking of one of the first times he encountered a Sith Lord after he became Obi Wan's padawan. If he recalled correctly, it might've been on Mortis with the Son…or was it before that? No, Mortis seemed right, but he'd also been in so many battles by that point they all started to blur together. Trezac could swear he wasn't remembering something.

That or he was overthinking things again; it wouldn't be the first time.

-.-

"I should end this right now! Throw the mirror into a river and cut you off forever!" Viren exclaimed picking up the chair and threatening to throw it into the mirror.

_"You won't,"_ Aaravos said. _"You are too curious. Hungry for knowledge and power."_

"Both things you can provide I trust?" Eleven inquired yanking the chair from Viren's hands and tossing it aside.

_"Of course. Allow me to earn your trust Viren, I promise you will like the results. Search your hearts; there's something you want very badly. But, something or someone, stands in your way."_

"Isn't there always?" Eleven grit her teeth putting her hands hips, resisting the urge to kill someone.

"I am having a problem getting some people to listen to me," Viren corrected glancing at Eleven, "to hear the importance of what I'm saying."

_"Who are these people?"_

"Just some rulers and their attack dogs," Eleven sneered.

_"Then we have to get their attention."_

Pulling the chair over, Eleven sat down, interlacing her fingers as a smirk formed. "We're listening."

-.-

"CALLUM! WAKE UP!" Rayla screamed, shaking the unconscious boy as his breathing grew more ragged than before. "YOU'VE GOT TO STAY WITH ME!"

"What's going on?" Trezac asked as he slid by them, as he ran from the back of the cave to rejoin them.

"It's Callum, he's getting worse," Rayla said. "Isn't there something you can do?!"

A bag flew through the air, causing Rayla to duck as it shot over her head and into Trezac's hand. Ripping the bag open, Trezac began scrounging through the bag, trying to find something to help Callum. He pulled out the bacta patches, looking at Callum and biting his lip. These were for physical wounds, and Callum had no physical wounds to treat. With an angered growl, Trezac hurled the bag away, of course he had nothing! Of course, he didn't bother to learn Force Healing when it mattered! And now he was as useless as ever.

Rayla's eyes widened as she saw the mage's anger and frustration. She didn't need a verbal response to know that meant he had nothing that could help. A small twinge of fear formed in her gut as she remembered the last time he got angry, pulling Callum closer, she turned herself so at least she was somewhat between Callum and Trezac.

"Callum, please, it doesn't matter what you did before, I just want you to be ok again," she pleaded. "I can't lose you, you mean too much to me!" Callum gasped, shooting up from her arms with wide eyes, the color slowly starting to return to his skin. "Callum!" Rayla lunged forwards, catching the other boy in a hug. "You're awake! Oh, you have some of those sleep crusties, here, let me," licking her thumb, she wiped them off his face.

"I have it," Callum spoke up. "I understand the Sky Arcanum."

-.-

"This is where the squirrel said we should go," Ezran said popping out from the brush with Claudia on his heels.

The dark mage looked around, her eyes locking on a large shrub with dark purple fruits, "A milk-fruit bush."

Several shrubs near the bush shook and some deer emerged from the forest, sniffing at the fruit. "Look, there's a family of deer here!" Ezran grinned. "I almost forgot how deer love milk-fruit."

"Yes, yes they do," she said. Looking to the boy, her brows furrowed, as much as she didn't want to send Ezran back to that backstabber, she needed to get him out of there so she could do what needed to be done. "Callum needs you. Do you know the way back?"

Ezran nodded, "I've got plenty of friends to help me if I get lost."

Considering she saw him riding a banther into town, Claudia didn't doubt that. She knelt down, putting a hand on his shoulder, "Ezran, I'm sorry if the things I did before were frightening or confusing; I care about you and Callum a lot and I just want you guys to be safe."

Ezran gave her an innocent smile as he picked up a milk-fruit and handed it to her, "I know."

And just like that, Ezran was gone, running off to help his brother, but he was also heading back to that elf and that traitor. Her grip tightened on the fruit as she looked to the deer, after this was done, she could save Soren.

Then she could extract her revenge on Trezac.

-.-

"You understand the Sky Arcanum now?" Rayla repeated.

Callum nodded, getting to his feet, "It's not one simple thing; it's all the things. They just had to…come together, you know? it's like, I used to hold the power of the sky in my hand, right? But now that's gone. But Rayla, the whole world is like a giant primal stone and we're inside it! I'm inside sky magic, but it's also in me with every breath I take!"

"That…kind of makes sense," Rayla said.

Trezac nodded, "Yeah, it sounds like the Force. The Force is in everyone and everything."

"Exactly! And I kept thinking about birds, and sails and how they connect to the wind, and then I had to find my wings, but that's just it! I am the wing!"

"That makes less sense," Rayla said. "But ok!"

Callum took a breath, "Moment of truth." He turned on his heel walking to the ledge. "Let's see if I can do this." Callum took a deep breath, and stretched out a hand. The tip of his finger began to glow, and he slowly started drawing a familiar glowing rune in the air. He took a deep breath, "Aspiro," exhaling, a large gust of wind went out over the forest canopy and shaking the branches.

"Ezran! You're back!" Rayla exclaimed, spotting the young boy as he and Corvis walked up the slope. Callum turned in their direction, his wind almost blowing them over.

"He was gone?" Callum inquired looking to Trezac.

"Yeah…" Trezac grimaced. "Some stuff happened while you were outta it."

Zym gave a yip, jumping on Ezran and licking him. "I love your Zappy kisses!" Ezran said picking up the dragonling. "Callum, you figured it out? You can do magic again!"

"That's incredible Prince Callum," Corvic complemented.

"Thanks…uh, who are you?"

"Callum, Corvis; Corvis, Callum," Trezac introduced. "He's on our side, your Aunt Amaya sent him to protect us."

"I serve the young king."

Callum's eyes widened and he looked to his brother in horror, "What?"

Ezran glanced away, his shoulders hunching, "I know about Dad."

Callum strode over and knelt before his brother sadly, "I…I don't know what to say," he stretched out a hand, resting it on his shoulder, "Ez, I'm so sorry I didn't tell you. I—I tried to, but I just…I just couldn't."

Setting Zym down, Ezran hugged Callum, a stray tear running down his cheek.

-.-

Soren's eyes opened as he heard clattering beyond the curtains comprising his resting area. "Hey! What are you doing?!"

"You can't be in here! The patient needs rest!"

The voices were cut off, and his eyes widened as the curtains were yanked aside by Claudia. Her eyes were glowing violet and her hair was floating as strange light came from her hands, forcing the doctor and her aide aside as she strode towards him. Soren's eyes widened as he felt his brain trying and failing to move his body away. He'd always loved his sister, but, seeing her like this, something about her scared him.

"C-Claudia? What are you doing?" he asked, his voice rising.

He didn't get an answer as she rose her hands and the light art from her hands. Soren cried out in pain as the bolts hit him. It felt like everything had been lit on fire causing his immobile muscles to spasm and arch. The pain came to an abrupt stop and the air was almost knocked from his lungs as he slammed back on the bed. Soren breathed rapidly, he didn't even know he'd been off the bed in the first place. A dull ache came from his limbs, causing him to gasp, "Hey, what's…what's this?" Looking down, his heart began racing and he smiled as his toes moved under his command. "I—I can move my toes! I can move toes! I forgot how much I loved wiggling," he laughed moving his legs. "I can feel my knees, and my strong powerful thighs, and my ribs," he pressed his hands against his chest yelping a pain shot through him. "Oh, agh, I broke ribs didn't I? Oh it's horrible, I can feel again, ahh!"

Soren lied back down, exhaling in relief. While it hurt, he wouldn't trade it for anything. And he would never take the advantage of the gift of movement again. Sitting up, relishing the pain throbbing through him, he sat up, looking to his sister. Whatever she did, it worked.

However, when he saw her lying on the ground, his smile faded. "Clauds? Are you ok?"

Claudia gave a weak exhale as she shakily sat up, allowing Soren to see one large streak of white in her long, dark hair. "You're better now," she said looking up as her black eyes began to return to normal, "that's all that matters."

-.-

"Everything's packed and everyone's healthy. And we're just a few hours from the border of Xadia," Rayla said clapping her hands together.

"Packed and ready!" Callum said slinging his bag over his shoulder.

"Rayla, how is the wild food in Xadia? Cause in the next few days, between all of us, we're going to be out of ration bars," Trezac spoke up.

"Trust me, we won't need those when we get into Xadia," Rayla said quickly. She was not eager to eat more of those bricks.

"Awesome, so we have everything! Let's get going!" Callum grinned.

"Callum," Ezran called, "When you told me assassins were coming for Dad, I ran away and hid in the walls."

"With a healthy stash of jelly tarts of I recall," Callum remembered.

"Yeah. And when I found out Dad was gone forever, I ran away again," Ezran confessed, "I've been running away from things my whole life. But I can't run away from growing up."

Callum chuckled, playfully slinging an arm around his brother's shoulder. "So, now that you're king are you gonna start saying wise things like that all the time?"

Ezran didn't answer, gently taking his brother's hand and looking at him with wide blue eyes. "When you grow up, you have to face things you're not ready for."

"You're not coming with us," Trezac realized.

"Wait, what?" Callum asked looking between them confused.

Ezran nodded in confirmation, "I have to face my responsibility. Now that I'm king, I have to go home. Maybe I can help the world better from the throne. I can do whatever I can to stop the war."

"Ez, returning Zym to his mother is the world's best hope," Rayla argued.

"And we'll do that," Trezac reassured moving to place a hand on her shoulder before pulling back. "Zym and his mother will be reunited and he'll take his place in Xadia. But, for this war to end, both sides must reach a resolution, otherwise, this war will continue."

"I need to take my place on the throne," Ezran agreed. "I wish I could go with you, but I can't. You guys have to do this without me."

"I'll come with you," Trezac said.

"No Trezac, Callum and Rayla need you to go with them," Ezran said giving him a quick hug.

"Don't worry, I'll travel with the king and keep him safe," Corvis reassured.

"Ezran, are you sure?" Rayla asked.

Ezran ran up and hugged her, "I'll miss you Rayla, but I'll see you again, I promise."

"You better," Rayla smirked ruffling his hair, "I know where you live."

"Ez, as soon as Zym is home, I'll come back to help you," Callum said hugging his little brother. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Zym gave a yip, pawing at Ezran's leg. The boy smiled, kneeling down to scratch his head, "You're going to grow up so strong and good. I'm sorry I couldn't help you learn to fly, but I know you'll get it soon."

Ezran began to walk away and he picked up Bait. Zym whimpered, trying to follow only for Trezac to scoop him up. "I'm sorry little one, but you can't go with him you need to get your mom, that's where you belong." An idea came to him and Trezac whistled causing the firefox to perk his ears as the jedi gave him a quick pet, "Ezran, at least take Agir with you, he can help."

Ezran gave them a smile, patting his leg and Agir gave Trezac a lick to his hand before scampering over to the young king. The younger boy pet the fox's ears, causing its tail to wag before they started walking away to head back to Katolis.

-.-

Darkness fell over the kingdom of Katolis, upon one of the castle towers, Eleven and Viren stood watching the guards walk by before Viren set down the large cloth on the ground and rolled it out to reveal the weapons of the fallen elven assassins.

_"You tried to win over the other humans with loyalty and friendship, but they ignored you. Those who fail tests of love are simple animals."_

"And simple animals, are motivated by fear," Eleven grinned as she followed where Aaravos was going with his plan. Oh, she liked this man; finally, there was someone who knew what it took to achieve true power.

Viren set out four bowls filled with black powder. Lighting a red candle, Eleven took small pinches of each bowl, and sprinkled them over the flame which turned violet. "Aidnaloen, Rab Led, Ereneve, dna Nerud su eseppo ohw esoht nopu soahc ngier, niaga esir, nellaf fo has," she chanted, her eyes glowing a menacing red-violet before blowing on the flam. Four wisps of red-black smoke circled them, causing Viren to take a startled step back as each smoke pillar landed on the weapons, forming the shadowy forms of elves with similarly glowing eyes. Each one sprinted off in a different direction, leaving a trail of smoke in its wake.

"Since…how—since when could you do magic?!" Viren demanded watching as Eleven turned to him. Her golden eyes returning to their natural color without even transitioning to the pitch black seen after a spell. She didn't even seem to have any side-effects like he had.

"Oh Viren," Eleven smiled, her sharp nail trailing down his cheek to his chin, "There is so much you don't know about me." The mage rubbed his face, trying to feel for a cut as she walked away, looking over the courtyard. "I recommend you go put those things away, I don't know where they go and I need to use my magic to check on Twelve."

Viren scowled, opening his mouth to protest before he clamped his jaw shut. As much as he didn't want to just obey, he knew she had a point. He couldn't contact Twelve to see the progress of the mission his children were on, Eleven could. He bent down, picking up the items and walked off to drop them off in his chambers. After that, he would have a talk with Eleven about who was in power here.

As he walked away, the inquisitor grinned. She could feel the anger coming off him, not that he'd have the chance to use it against her. Viren thought he held all the power; Eleven was more than happy to show him what emtrue power/em looked like. As far as he knew, her ally was still with his children, and all she had to do was threaten to kill them and she'd have that mage groveling at her feet like the worthless piece of scrap he was.

She looked down, watching the little soldiers patrol below. They were so small, and primitive; so easy to manipulate to her will. This world and its magic would be hers.

"All hail the Queen."


End file.
